Heading into the final lap: PHS senior Hanks enjoys the moment, eyes the future

Posted 4/3/18

As he threw out some trash, “I turned to go back to my seat, and boom!” Hunter said. He was hit.

“I’m like, ‘Who the heck is running into me?’” Hunter recalled. “I look and there’s Maddy Hanks.”

Hanks, a senior standout on …

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Heading into the final lap: PHS senior Hanks enjoys the moment, eyes the future

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Stranded in the Denver airport last month, Dan Hunter, pole vault coordinator for the Powell High School track and field team, was frazzled enough to not notice an approaching sneak attack.

As he threw out some trash, “I turned to go back to my seat, and boom!” Hunter said. He was hit.

“I’m like, ‘Who the heck is running into me?’” Hunter recalled. “I look and there’s Maddy Hanks.”

Hanks, a senior standout on the PHS basketball and track teams, was heading home as well, and couldn’t resist the opportunity to have a little fun with her longtime coach.

Hanks, the third-place finisher in the pole vault at last year’s state meet, laughs when the story is repeated back to her, taking a break from track practice to plead her case.

“I just walked up to him and kind of bumped him,” she explained, adding, “He didn’t know it was me at first; it was funny.”

Head PHS track and field coach Scott Smith says Hunter has described the attack as more of a “bodyslam.”

“You ask Maddy that story, and she says, ‘Oh, I bumped him in the shoulder,’” Smith said, chuckling. “But if you press her on it, you’ll see the smile. You’ll know it may have been a little more than a bump.”

The coaches may not be able to agree on the story, but when it comes to Hanks, there’s one thing they do agree on: When she graduates this spring, they’ll be losing someone special.

“I’ve been coaching for 28 years, and I can easily put her [Hanks] in the top five kids I’ve ever coached,” Hunter said. “Her commitment, her attitude, her work ethic is just unbelievable. She’s just an all-around great kid.”

Smith agreed, calling Hanks “a fierce competitor” who doesn’t quit.

“Maddy’s one of the nicest kids in the world, but when she gets competitive, watch out: She’s going to give it everything she’s got,” Smith said.

Asked what kind of a leader Hanks is to her younger teammates, Smith said she leads by example.

“She’s not your rah, rah, grab-you-by-the-throat leader,” he said. “She’s just herself — and kids want to be like her. When she gives them advice or says something, they listen. It’s going to be good to have her at this next track meet, keeping people happy, keeping them upbeat. Some kids get discouraged, head down, and Maddy’s really good about being right there to help them out. It’s all genuine. And that’s just her. She was like that even as a freshman.”

Hanks missed last weekend’s Yellowstone Sports Medicine Invitational in Cody because of a campus visit to Michigan State University in East Lansing. Hanks is the recipient of a Starr Charitable Foundation Scholarship, given to only eight students from Wyoming each year and six from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan who are interested in attending Michigan State. The scholarship is all-inclusive, covering all regular costs for eight semesters: Tuition, fees, books, room and board and incidental expenses.

“I’m thrilled to have this opportunity,” Hanks said. “I couldn’t have imagined when I was a freshman that I’d one day be going to Michigan for college.”

Hanks’ final season as a Lady Panther track athlete began last Thursday at a dual in Cody. She had a solid first meet, finishing fifth in the 300 meter hurdles and running a leg for the winning 4x400 relay team; she sat out the pole vault event with a sore shoulder, but hopes to be ready for the L.A. Kohnke Invitational this weekend at Powell High School.

An all-conference standout on the hardwood this past season, the senior said she’s hoping to build on last year’s third-place finish at state in the pole vault, but she’s keeping her expectations realistic.

“I’m excited, I think it’s going to be a good year,” she said. “I’ll keep doing the hard work, and hopefully see some good results. Doing well at state is a goal, but more than anything a [personal record] would be good. Maybe get the school record; we’ll see.”

As for what she’ll miss the most about competing for the Lady Panthers track team, Hanks said it’s a combination of things.

“Track is cool, because it’s an individual sport, but it’s also a team sport,” she explained. “It’s really cool to see how everyone improves over the course of the season. They work hard together and everyone gets better. It’s just a cool sport.”

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