Pellant sprints to Manhattan school record
Special to Kansas Pregame
MANHATTAN - It took 27 years for the Manhattan High girls 100-meter dash record to fall.
It took junior Hanna Pellant just 20 minutes to break the 1997 mark twice between prelims and finals.
“It’s incredible but it won’t be the only time she does that,” MHS 100 teammate Harli Omli said.
“The day I broke the MHS 100m school record was an amazing day,” Pellant said. “I had a feeling I was going to break it, but you never know for sure until you run it.”
Manhattan's Queen of the Cinder broke the mark in the preliminaries with an 11.72 clocking, shattering the previous school record of 11.90. Her 11.72 is tops among all KSHSAA runners in all classes.
“I was very relaxed and stress free when I stepped into the blocks,” she said. “I felt the wind blowing at my back, and I thought if I was going to break the school record it would be then, before the wind was gone.”
She was also focusing on the gun, practicing exploding out.
“The gun was going extremely fast and gave you hardly any time to get set, so I was trying my best to remain relaxed while listening to the gun during the heats in front of me. I knew what I needed to work on and I focused on that,” she said. “When the race was over, my best friend, Harli Omli yelled at me and said ‘you ran 11.71!’ (it was an 11.72 after being rounded up).”
She then had a 20 minute break before finals.
“I warmed up a little and just tried to stay loose,” she said. “In the blocks I tried to stay focused and once the gun went off, I pushed out of the blocks as fast as I could. I had the lead the entire time and ran an 11.79.”
No MHS girl had ever gone under 11.9 seconds and she eclipsed 11.8 twice in a matter of 1,200 seconds between races.
“I did impress myself,” she admitted. “I had hoped to break the school record, and have been trying for a long time, but I didn’t expect to run a 100m time that’s second in all of Kansas, behind another best friend of mine, (nationally ranked runner and Rock Creek freshman) Aria Pearce, whom I'm extremely proud of!”
“I'm so impressed with Hanna's focus and determination over the last year,” Nathan Pearce, Aria’s dad and founder of the Prairie Fire Speed Academy, where Omli, Pearce and Pellant train, said. “To go from an injury to some of the fastest times in state history, including a big school record, is so impressive. Hanna has been such a great person to train and watch over the last couple years. I know she is just getting started, though. I have no doubt she'll break more records as she continues through high school and beyond.”
The injury surfaced in January, 2023 in an indoor meet at Pittsburg State.
“I never would’ve thought it would happen the way it did, and it was such bad timing too,” she said. “I first felt a burning feeling in my quad when I was warming up for an indoor Pitt State meet in January ’23. I didn’t think much of it, and I continued to train and compete in other meets.”
But the pain worsened by her sophomore track season.
“I could really feel my quad hurting,” Pellant said. “I finally went in for an MRI and found out I had a Grade 2 strain, which the doctor described as almost a tear in my right quad.”
She was out for several weeks and felt discouraged at times seeing people compete when she couldn’t.
“Nonetheless, I was proud of my teammates, and I supported them at practice and in meets, as I worked hard rehabbing,” Pellant noted. “I made it back at the end of the season, although I wasn’t at 100 percent. I went with my teammates and competed at state. I now go to PT regularly as a precaution. I feel like I have PTSD from the injury, and anytime I tweak something, either at long jump, or even warming up, it scares me a little bit.”
She’s fifth in 6A in long jump right now with a mark of 18 feeet, 1.25 inches.
“Jumping that PR at Olathe meant a lot because I hadn’t had a PR since freshman year,” she said. “At the time I was frustrated because our 4x100 had just dropped the baton, and my prior long jumps I was scratching. On my final jump, I finally hit the board and jumped my PR.”
Pellant is fourth in the 200 meters with a time of 25.02.
“I don’t consider the 200m my strong event, and I wasn’t running it well the year before after coming back from my injury,” she said. “I have been conditioning more than ever, and I even ran a leg of the 4x400 in Manhattan. I never thought I would run that long again.”
Pellant, whose picture in conjunction with a report about her school record on Kansas Pregame's Facebook page generated thousands of likes with numerous comments about her powerful legs, was asked what she leg presses.
“Ha ha ha ha, I’m not for sure actually. As part of my training I don't max out, but I’m thinking a small car,” she said with a grin that was as wide as nearby Tuttle Creek Reservoir.
“After my injury last year, I rehabbed hard and built some muscles in my legs,” she said. “I've continued to lift weights during the season, which I believe has helped me finish races strong. When I was injured I had a tough time seeing other people PR and break records while I was on the sidelines. All I could do is support my teammates and get back out there as soon as I could. It motivated me.”
Several colleges are showing interest in the Queen of Cinder. They are Nebraska, KU, Missouri State, Ottawa University, Point Loma and Washburn. She has visited Nebraska, Ottawa and Missouri State and hopes to have official visits setup in August.
What makes a good track athlete?
“One of the things that makes a good track athlete is having mental toughness, because you need the ability to handle pressure, maintain focus and overcome setbacks,” Pellant said. “You also need coachability because you want to show a willingness to learn and take feedback and adapt to training strategies. Consistency with training, recovery and having good nutrition habits is also important if you want to be elite.
“I am not always perfect in all of these areas, but I try to be as consistent as possible, and I try to improve every day. If my injury has taught me anything, it is that you can’t take things for granted because one day it can all change, so appreciate each day and the opportunities you have.”