Gierow is sensational at 6A Section 4; State Championships next

Anna Gierow leads the pack in the 100 meter Hurdles
(RECORD PHOTO/LINDSAY VAUGHT)

MADISON-  A year ago, Anna Gierow was thinking all about soccer. This year she is still thinking some about soccer but what she really wants to talk about is her new sport; running track. Specifically the sprint hurdle 100 meter and 300 meter races.

Last Saturday at the 6A Section 4 Qualifier Meet at James Clemens, Gierow, a junior at Bob Jones, got her first big-time exposure and she made the most of it.

She won the 100 M Hurdles with Dekonte Gistarb of James Clemens coming in second .25 seconds behind. On Friday in the preliminaries Gierow made the top 8 from a field of 28 girls.

Later in the track meet she claimed another first place finish in the 300 Meter Hurdles. She blew away the field, winning by more than two seconds over the next finisher, Laurel Sharp of Huntsville High.

She qualified to go to the state Track Championships in Gulf Shores this week. It will be her first trip to state in track.

Gierow didn’t just stop with her individual events. She ran first leg for the Bob Jones 4×400 M relay team that won. In fact the only wins Bob Jones had on the day she was partly or totally responsible for.

Bob Jones track coach Jim Presnell said he expected Gierow to win her races at the Section 4 meet.

“I would have been surprised if she had not responded,” he said. “It was a great performance and she is going to have many more. I was a little worried about her running in the 100 meter because she hit a hurdle in the preliminaries and didn’t finish the race and it was the first adversity she has had in track. But after she cleared the first two or three hurdles I knew she was going to be ok. She ran a little more under control because she didn’t want to hit a hurdle again. It was still fast enough to win the race. In the 300 hurdles she went out and ran hard from the beginning and she broke the school record on that race. She has that kind of talent.”

Overall Bob Jones will carry 22 athletes to the state track meet. By contrast at James Clemens 33 total qualified for state.

“She has kind of saved our season a little bit,” Presnell said. “She has been a great addition to our girl’s team.”

Presnell said that Geirow’s performance is even more amazing since it is her first year running track.

“I’ve been fortunate to coach multiple state champions and she might potentially be the best 300 meter female hurdler I’ve coached. We don’t know yet how fast she can be.”

Presnell said that a full off season of training will make a big difference.

“We are going to start working on her raw speed. How fast she is at the core will determine how far she goes in this sport because she has no trouble clearing the hurdles.”

Anna Gierow and Emika Miyamoto finished first and third in the 100 M Hurdles
RECORD PHOTO/LINDSAY VAUGHT)

At the state meet Gierow will face the top runners from across the state including Brittley Humphrey of Hoover who won both the 100 and 300 M hurdles last year as a freshman.

“I expect her to be in the top three finishers at state. She will be right in there with the great athletes from Hoover. With another year of training and preparation she could easily go Division 1 track scholarship,” Presnell said.

“We got a lot of great athletes in this state but right now only one could I see going and racing as a freshman at the highest level of the NCAA that is Marlon Humphrey of Hoover.”

Gierow competed against Brittley Humphrey at a meet in Tennessee this season.

With a soccer playoff game and the state qualifier track meet both held on Saturday, April 26, Gierow got her first taste of playing two sports at a high level and by all accounts it was a success.

“It’s been a lot of pressure but my friends and coaches have helped me and supported me in my decision to play two sports,” Gierow said between events at the track meet.

“I love both very much. This is my first year to run track. As it turned out I am really good at it. I surprised myself because coming here there were a lot of really good competitors. They pushed me also. As of right now I really enjoy track and that is what I am going to pursue (in college).”

Gierow is also an All-State soccer player and was named to the North all-star squad to participate in All-Star Sports Week. The soccer games will be July 22.

Gierow said that she still intends to play soccer her senior year at Bob Jones.