In winning the 110-meter hurdles at last week’s meet at Wescott Field, Drew Oesterle kicked just about every hurdle with his lead leg, leaving a series of wobbling hurdles in his wake.

Monday, May 01, 2000

In winning the 110-meter hurdles at last week’s meet at Wescott Field, Drew Oesterle kicked just about every hurdle with his lead leg, leaving a series of wobbling hurdles in his wake.

"That’s not what you want to do," he said. "I almost tripped once. It was my worst race all year."

Still, the driven Oesterle won the race.

Oesterle, first and foremost, is a soccer player. He’s a junior and was captain of the Austin soccer team last fall. He’s desperate to earn a soccer scholarship to a Division I or II college.

In order to stay in shape, Oesterle wrestles in the winter. And, just this year, he began running track, something he hadn’t done since he was a seventh grader in Dubuque, Iowa.

"They taught me the basic form and some drills," he said. "I’ve been working on memory."

It’s working quite well.

Oesterle already has a handful of wins in his first year back on the track.

He’s able to do so, because he’s technically gifted.

That he was kicking the hurdles is an indication of how precise he is trying to be.

If you notice in the photograph above, Oesterle almost appears to be sitting on the hurdle – which is what a hurdler wants to do.

"You almost want to skin the back of your leg," he said.

Kicking the hurdle, or clearing it by too much isn’t an efficient way to run the hurdles.

"You’re wasting too much time," said Oesterle, who hasn’t wasted any time in establishing himself as a fine hurdling prospect.