As a seventh grader, junior Andie Yost experienced her first track and field season. Ever since then, her skills have continued to excell, and, this past year, she qualified for the National Junior Olympics.
Over the course of four competitive seasons, Yost has dedicated at least 20 hours a week to practice and outside training. While she would now consider herself dedicated to the sport, she initially joined to make a loved one proud.
“My grandpa was a really good thrower that threw for UNL, and I thought it would make him happy if I did this. And also (it) seemed kinda fun,” Yost said.
Because of this dedication to both track and powerlifting, her skills have skyrocketed. She has reached a personal best of 131 feet, 6 inches in discus and 43 feet,10¾ inches in shot put. The hard work doesn’t only pay off in distances, medals or wins, but also recognition from coaches.
“If she has a bad throw, she’s able to move on,” Coach Landon Kubicek said. “I think the best competitors have that, where they’re able to have a bad repetition and they’re able move off from and go to the next one. I think she has that.”
After her sophomore season, discus assistant coach Macy Pinion mentioned the Junior Olympics to Yost, and with Yost’s familiar knowledge of it, she looked deeper into it. While looking at numbers from throwers in past Junior Olympics, she found that she could be successful and decided to sign up.
“I didn’t think I would do good, but then I looked at the results after my freshman year, and I would have gotten second,” Yost said.
Yost competed in the state competition this previous summer, the first round of the Junior Olympics, here at GHS on June 7 and 8. She threw 39 feet, 3 inches and received fourth place in shot put, and threw for 115 feet, 2 inches and earned a second place in discus. Then, she advanced to the regional event in Ames, Iowa, on July 12. Performing better in both events, she got third place in shot, throwing for 41 feet, 3 inches in addition to a and seventh place finish in discus. Even though she earned a lower place in regionals, she threw over ten yards more than in the state round, having a distance of 126 feet, 3 inches. Finally, her performance qualified her for the national competition at Savannah State University in Savannah, Georgia, on June 23 and 24. Unfortunately, Yost had another commitment to be at and was not able to make it to Nationals, but she said she has hopes to earn a spot next year.
Outside of throwing discus and shot put, she is involved in class officers, National Honor Society (NHS), Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and powerlifting, where she placed first in her weight class at the Nebraska State Championships earlier this year.
“I was super happy (winning state powerlifting), and it is probably my biggest accomplishment as of right now. But we have to keep the grind going and this is just the beginning,” Yost said.
Yost plans to continue participating in track and field as well as powerlifting during her last two years of high school. She also said she plans on trying out for the Junior Olympics again next summer. Additionally, she hopes to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps and throw for a Division I college or university as well.
“Throwing in college for me means that I have achieved a lifelong goal and that I can show off me and my family’s achievements,” Yost said. “My whole family has been very involved in sports throughout their life, so if I can take that to the next step, that would be very special.”
While some would describe goals like these as hefty or unlikely, she isn’t the only one who believes that she will achieve them. Yost has friends, family and coaches with her on the track, in the weight room, in school and so many other places.
“(I am) more so proud of her as a person, because I know all the hard work she’s put in to get there,” Kubicek said. “So it’s cool seeing her work finally start paying off. And I feel like she has a really high ceiling, so I think it’s just the start for her.”
