Michelle Garner Makes Clearing Hurdles Look Easy

Some people enjoy the challenge of a figurative hurdle, something they have to get over mentally or professionally.

Michelle Garner, a 5-foot-1-inch senior at , prefers the literal kind.

“The challenge of OK, now I have to get over something. How am I going to do this?,” Garner responded when asked what initially drew her to hurdling in seventh grade.

“That’s what made it interesting, and you never see shorter hurdlers. It’s nice that I could show myself to other people.”

Garner has made a habit of showing off her skills to people the last three springs, including Saturday, at the WIAA Division 1 State Meet in La Crosse.

For Garner, who relied on her speed between hurdles and her ability to hurdle with either leg in the 300, it was her third title in the event after winning the same race as both and sophomore.

“This one was probably the more important one,” Garner said. “The first time, I came out of nowhere and didn’t really know what was going on. The second year, I had a good competitor. It was nice to beat her. But there was more competition this year, so this one was probably the best.”

Garner is believed to be the only three-time state champion in school history, regardless of sport or gender. She hopes her efforts rub off on those who follow in her footsteps.

“It’s cool that even though I’m leaving I still left a mark and put Greenfield’s name out there,” Garner said. “Their track team isn’t that big so hopefully it can bring (the numbers) up. I’m hoping for that.

“We have one (remaining) hurdler now so I’m hoping she sticks with it. I hope she takes a couple of younger classmen and encourages them to come out.”

Garner, who placed 12th at state in the 300 as a freshman, won the 2012 version of the race in 43.69 seconds narrowly edging La Crosse Logan senior Amber Sanderson, who ran second in 43.75, the only sub-44-second time in the field.

She said winning multiple championships immediately became a goal of hers after capturing gold at the 2010 race, but the path to this year’s crown had a huge hurdle — this time figurative in nature — in the way.

During the winter basketball season, Garner tore most of the tendons in her ankle playing basketball for the Hustlin’ Hawks. She was in a cast and then a boot before undergoing rehabilitation and missing the entire indoor portion of the track season.

“I was definitely scared because if I land on a hurdle wrong, I could twist it or mess it up again,” Garner said.

But Garner’s surgically repaired ankle held up during the outdoor season and after the state meet, she did not experience any pain, discomfort or swelling.

That’s good news for Winona State in Minnesota, and major in either athletic training or physical therapy.