Great expectations for Arlington track star

Published 12:19 pm Tuesday, March 11, 2008

The pressure could be on Kjirsten Jensen.

She’s a senior, a track team captain and a three-sport athlete at Arlington High School, for whom she won a pair of Class 3A state championships in the discus and shot put at the 2007 state track meet last May in Pasco.

She’s earned that always-revered — yet sometimes-dreaded — moniker of “defending state champion,” and her name is now prominently displayed on a banner inside Arlington High’s gymnasium, where just a week ago she was playing in the 3A District 1 basketball tournament.

The pressure to repeat could be on, but is it?

Well, that depends on who you ask.

“She’s feeling it all right,” Arlington head track coach Judd Hunter said. “It’s high expectations, but she’s got the talent and she’s got the drive … she knows she’s got some pressure on her and it makes her uncomfortable, but we keep telling her all she has to do is her best, train her best and the rest will take care of itself.”

Jensen, for her part, downplayed her feelings about the pressure.

“I want to (win) again,” she stated matter-of-factly. “I have the pressure that I want to go out and do it, but now that I have (the titles), no one can take that away from me, so this year I just want it to be fun. I’ll still go for the goal, obviously, but it’s not in the back of my head as much as it could have been.”

How much being a defending state champ will affect her this season probably lies somewhere in-between Jensen and her coach’s assessments. Partly alleviating any pressure is that she has already agreed to throw for Washington State University next year.

“I’m not really focused on it this year,” she said. “I’m focused on my pr’s (personal records) and my personal goals. I’ve already committed to a school so that pressure’s off and so right now, if I make it to state, I make it to state, but I’m not going to hold that against myself. Before I was really iffy on focusing on what I was going to do, but now I don’t have that pressure.”

Jensen spurned a partial-scholarship offer from Eastern Washington to walk-on at WSU, and her coaches say they believe she has the tools to succeed in the Pac-10.

“She has the build to be a successful thrower at the next level,” Hunter said. “She can be an elite thrower.”

“She’s really a unique combination of power and speed,” added Arlington shot and discus coach Tom Roys. “If you watch her run, you might think she’d do all right as a sprinter — she has that quickness and explosiveness.”

Though Jensen describes herself as a “head-case,” and Hunter describes her as someone who “wears her emotions on her sleeve,” Hunter also indicated that Jensen’s maturation over the past four years has gone a long way to helping her develop her talent.

It also helps her keep the pressure from getting to her in her bid to repeat.

“She’s had a few instances when her emotions have gotten the best of her, but I think that’s where that experience comes in. Now as a senior, having gone through those things, she’s going to be better having gone through that.”

Her maturity and experience have made her a leader, particularly among the Arlington throwers, but she prefers to let her performance do the talking.

“I think (my leadership) is a byproduct of success,” she said. “I don’t necessarily like being a leader because I think that puts a lot of pressure on someone. Instead, I’d rather be the person that people look at — not necessarily to follow. I’d rather have the leadership skills (shown) by my performance rather than telling people.”

Her guidance to younger athletes has spread beyond Arlington High School. She’s been an active participant when Arlington High School works with the track teams from Haller and Post Middle Schools in Arlington.

“I like seeing the little kids and working with them,” she said. “(Track) is such a passion for me, and I think I want to make it a passion for them too. Seeing people succeed — I just love that and if I work with them, seeing them in a meet just makes my day.”

One of her former mentees, Marissa Elgarico, is now one of her teammates, and the two agree they share a special bond.

“She would come down and teach me techniques when I was just learning,” said Elgarico, who attended Post and is now a sophomore. “She was somebody I could look up to.”

The bonds Jensen has forged and contributions she’s made as a volleyball and basketball player, and in track and field will remain, but for this season, she’s trying to live in the moment and have fun for the remainder of her senior year.

So does she dread the pressure to repeat? Not really.

“I don’t want to be the underdog,” she said. “I want to be the one everyone is chasing.”

Given last year’s performances, the chase is on.