Wynot’s Sudbeck has bounced back well from track hiatus

WYNOT — With a lost track and field season a year ago, it wouldn’t be a massive surprise to see many current juniors undergoing a bit of a culture shock.

After last competing as freshmen due to the COVID-19 pandemic that wiped out the 2020 spring campaign, the Class of 2022 returned to competition advancing from young, goofy freshmen to suddenly needing to be upperclassmen leaders.

Wynot’s Krystal Sudbeck hasn’t had that much of a problem this campaign for the Lady Blue Devils.

Sudbeck has broken the school record in long jump (16-03), runs the 100 and 200-yard dashes and is the anchor leg of the 4x100 relay that also owns a highwater mark for the school at 52:01.

So, to say Sudbeck has stepped into the role of leader with relative ease may be pretty accurate.

“Krystal Sudbeck is a hard worker,” Wynot head coach Lee Heimes said. “She is very athletic and tries to do her best in all her events. She cares about what she does, and she is driven to succeed.

“She is a very good teammate and helps others do their best.”

Sudbeck acknowledges she is having a strong season and a lot of that has to do with natural ability along with a little extra to boot. “I have always been kind of

“I have always been kind of this way since my freshman year,” Sudbeck said. “It’s definitely different this year because we have freshmen and sophomore that are both new and we are not used to running with the same people, so we are getting into the swing of things with all the different people we are running with.”

Losing a year definitely accelerated Sudbeck’s leadership learning curve, but the closeness of the Lady Blue Devils has made that part easier.

“It does feel different because we have a lot of younger people and we hadn’t really seen them,” Sudbeck said. “It definitely feels that you are older (than normal). You have to be more of a leader to the younger age groups.”

While trying to be a leader, Sudbeck has managed to navigate her own focus into winning while having fun.

“It’s just all the sports that I’ve been involved in, keeps us all in shape and we run so much during sports seasons, so we go from there,” she said. “Our teammates also push us really hard.

“It’s definitely something I do to stay in shape and it’s also fun to do it with all the other people. I definitely like to win, and I am definitely competitive. It’s not like you enjoy it all the time, but you have to do well, because people are out there watching you.”

Sudbeck enjoys competing in the 4x100 relay the most and she likes the shared experience of the run and then of course the winning that can come with it.

She also wants to improve her 200 performances.

“It’s one of my better races, but it’s really hard to get me to do it because I don’t enjoy it,” Sudbeck said. “I want to get better coming out of the blocks. I was a little slow at the beginning of the season, but I am learning to do better.”

Sudbeck wouldn’t mind giving the 400 a go.

“It feels like the next choice,” she admits. “I would definitely try pole vault, but we don’t have that in Wynot.”

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