Alicia Hager's timing is pretty good.
No, make that very good.
No surprise there. Hager is one of the area's top performers in the discus, a event where, as they say, timing is everything.
Well, almost everything.
"There's a lot to it," the Lutheran South senior from Arnold said Saturday after finishing second at the Class 3 sectional meet at South.
Hager, 18, never gave the discus much thought. A 5-foot-8 athlete who combined strength and speed, she picked up the disc as something to do when she wasn't concentrating on the shot put.
"Generally, I don't like the discus at all," she said.
She is not alone. The discus can be brutal. With timing, technique and strength all factoring into success, there are a lot of things that can go wrong.
"There are a lot of little things involved," she said.
Lately, Hager has been the master of all those little things.
Saturday, the Maryville recruit boomed a personal-best throw of 114 feet, 9 inches on her last throw of the day. That stood as the winner until Windsor's Michelle Kyle came along a few minutes later and sailed the disc 119-2.
Saturday's 114-9 effort was the latest in a recent string of big throws. After posting a season best of 98-8 as a junior, Hager has delivered throws beyond 100 feet each of the last five weeks. At a chilly and wet district meet on May 14 she bombed a throw of 108-2. Her previous best was a 111-8 on April 29 at Lutheran North.
"My technique has definitely improved the last couple weeks," she said.
She says that with just a touch of surprise in her voice.
"I definitely haven't been doing it for long -- at least not taking it seriously for long," she said.
Her showing Saturday bumped the discus to a new spot on her list of favorites.
"Usually the shot put is my thing, but I didn't do too good (in that today) so I think I might like the discus better now," she joked.
Hager qualified for this week's Class 3 state championship meet in both the shot put and discus. In addition to placing second in the discus at the sectional, she also was fourth in the shot put with a throw of 37-6.5.
Hager brushed off the fact she slipped to fourth in the shot. While she had her sights set on a sectional title -- she previously posted shot put wins at the MWAA Red conference championships and at the Lutheran South, Lutheran North and Corey Siebert (Summit) invitationals -- she didn't have to have a win.
"I just wanted to get to state," she said.
Her goal at the state championships is a top-eight spot.
"I'm hoping to medal this year," she said.
Hager is on the right path. Her season-best efforts of 39-1.25 in the shot put and 114-9 in the disc put her in the middle of the field at the Friday-Saturday state meet. A medal is within reach in either event. Or, maybe, in both.
Delivering the season's biggest effort at the season's biggest event is a lot to ask of some performers.
Hager, though, is optimistic.
After all, her timing  -- not to mention her throwing -- has been pretty good lately.
