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Hansen hurdles herself to Harvard
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@acnpapers.com
Plano East senior Madison Hansen knew how in demand her track and field skills were over the summer when multiple schools contacted her on the first day possible.
But these weren't just any schools phoning Hansen.
"Harvard called me in the morning," Hansen said, "and Stanford called me that day."
"I had spent so many days stressing and toiling over this decision, so I was relieved to have it done," Hansen said. "I got so many amazing encouragements and congratulations from my friends and family, and I'm kind of proud of myself too."
Which makes sense given this has been a lengthy journey.
Hansen ran track at Hendrick Middle School under Chris Lillie, who is now the East girls track coach. As an eighth grader, Hansen won the 100-meter hurdles and broke the city record for that event.
"I think that is when she fell in love with track," said Jaye Hansen, Madison's mother.
That's not to say track is Hansen's only pursuit as she is also an officer in the student senate, a cheerleader and played varsity volleyball last year before deciding to focus exclusively on track.
"It was tough to leave volleyball, especially because I had a leadership role," Hansen said. "But that's not where my future was."
As her college choice suggests, Hansen is also academically inclined, as evidenced by her No. 23 rank in the East senior class. She plans on majoring in pre-med or engineering.
"I never in a million years dreamed I would have a daughter going to Harvard," Mrs. Hansen said. "My husband, Matt, is the one that kept telling Madison to use her smarts and athletic ability together and go to Harvard."
Hansen's track abilities have been evident since eighth grade, but she stepped it up during her junior campaign. Hansen finished first in both the 300 hurdles (44.75) and the long jump (17-08) at the 2011 District 8-5A Meet, placed second in the triple jump (37-09 ¼) and third in both the 110 hurdles (15.27) and the 4x400 relay (4:01.40). Hansen continued her strong run at the Region I Meet, taking fourth in the triple jump, fifth in the 110 hurdles and 12th in the long jump.
Those numbers caught the attention of Harvard.
And on her visit to the Cambridge, Mass.-based institution, the Crimson caught the attention of Hansen.
"I had a great time up there and (Harvard assistant coach and recruiting coordinator) Bryan Fetzer seemed like a really relatable coach," Hansen said. "I really felt like the Lord was leading me in that direction."
Hansen, who is focused on advancing to state in her final varsity season, won't officially be aligned with Harvard until February, 2012, but the program has already given her a homework assignment. Hansen will compete in the heptathlon, a compilation of seven different events, at the next level.
"I haven't done that before," she said, "so there is a pretty steep learning curve and a lot of new stuff to work on."
Hansen will also have a new environment to get used to.
"New England is definitely going to be a different culture than Plano, Texas," she said. "I am going to miss home knowing I can't come back as often, but I will definitely be calling my mom a lot and my dad said I could come home whenever I wanted to, so I am going to hold him to that."
Those messages are no doubt just what her parents want to hear.
"As a mom I am already getting a little sad that Harvard is so far away," Mrs. Hansen said. "But Madison is so independent, so we are very excited for this opportunity and cannot wait to see her journey unfold."
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