2023 NewsTribune Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year: Henry-Midland’s Laney Lester

When Laney Lester joined the track and field team in junior high, she had hopes of being a sprinter and hurdler.

Instead, her coach put her in the throwing events.

“I was kind of upset, because I thought it was for kids who weren’t very good at running,” Lester said. “Then in seventh grade I started to see a little bit of improvement, and I was like, ‘Hey, I can actually be good at this,’ and it kind of went from there.”

The coach’s decision turned out to be a blessing.

Lester was a state champion in junior high, and after her freshman season was canceled because of COVID-19, she continued to improve throughout her high school career.

After Lester earned a fifth-place medal in the discus at state as a junior, she put an exclamation point on her career this spring.

The Henry-Midland senior set the school record in the shot put and discus, went undefeated in the discus, won sectional titles in both events and captured the Class 1A state championship in the discus with a runner-up finish in the shot put.

For all her accomplishments this season, Lester is named the 2023 NewsTribune Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

“I think it was a great season,” Lester said. “Obviously, state was a great end. I was really happy with it. I’m ready for college and to keep seeing what I can do and how much I can progress.”

Lester established herself as a state favorite early in the season. She won the shot put at the Illinois Prep Top Times Meet, which is considered the unofficial indoor state meet, and her marks ranked among the state’s best all spring.

“She handled it very well,” Henry-Midland coach Jarrod Lester, Laney’s father, said about Laney being a favorite. “Being ranked first in every meet tends to get to some people but not her. She just focused on what she needed to do to win, and she performed very well.”

Laney Lester said there was “a little bit of pressure, but it was fun,” about being ranked among the state’s best.

Lester didn’t rest on her laurels. She kept working to improve throughout the season, breaking her own school records multiple times. She broke the school records in the discus and shot put more than 15 times in her three seasons.

“I kept lifting during the season, and I think that helped a lot,” Lester said. “I practiced a lot trying to fix things as I went.”

Jarrod Lester said his daughter has always been dedicated to improving herself.

“Her work ethic is what sets her apart,” Jarrod Lester said. “She is the hardest worker who I have ever coached. She’s in the weight room five days a week and spends hours at the track working on her technique. I have heard several comments from Henry residents saying how much time she spends out there working on her throwing.”

All her work paid off in the postseason as she won the sectional titles in both throws with tosses of 12.33 meters and 40.47 meters, which were the state’s top sectional marks.

At state, Lester recorded a toss of 39.65 meters in the discus preliminaries, and it held up to give Henry the second state title in school history. In the shot put, Lester had the top preliminary toss at 11.98 meters, which held up until Winnebago’s Amanda Gustafson passed Lester on her last attempt in finals.

“It’s always been a dream of mine [to win a state title],” Lester said. “It’s always been a goal. I wanted to work, and I wanted to get better to see how I could place.

“It was really exciting [to win the discus title]. I went over and hugged my mom and dad. Some of my teammates were there too. They were able to see it, which was really nice. It was really great.”

Lester said it was special to share the athlete-coach experience with her father.

“Most of the season, he doesn’t get to watch me throw because he’s coaching other kids or he’s helping measure events,” Laney Lester said. “But for state, he was able to stay there and watch. I think it was really special, him being there and my whole family being there – my mom, brothers, aunts, uncles. Everybody was there.”

Laney Lester said she appreciates the work her dad, who was a baseball player, has put in to learn track and field.

“This was really something new to him,” Laney Lester said, but he really took on that challenge. He has learned so much. He’s watched YouTube videos that break down the techniques. He’s always learning new ways of lifting and how to improve on that and different ways I can improve in the ring.”

Jarrod Lester said his daughter “will go down as one of the best if not the best track athlete we have ever had here,” and he was happy to be part of her high school career.

“Laney is a special talent, and I just feel fortunate to have been able to share this experience with her,” Jarrod Lester said. “As her coach and dad, I couldn’t be prouder of her and all of her accomplishments.”

Laney Lester will continue her career at Loras College, which placed second in the NCAA Division III nationals this season.