"This is the strongest shuttle hurdle relay team we've had here at City High," senior Maya Monito-Webber said. "We've broken the school record twice this year and we've been getting better each time we've ran this season."

The key to the Little Hawks' success is that all four runners adapted the three-step technique.

"We had a hard time with it last year, but we've all become pretty solid with it this year," said junior Katy Fraga. "With all four of us being faster individually, it has made our team even faster."

Fraga and the rest of the team are quick to credit new assistant coach Kelly Triplett, a former hurdler at City High and Loras College, for their improvement this season.

"We just did basic stuff before she came on board," Fraga said.

Sophomore Emily Triplett, Kelly's younger sister, said she has always gotten advice from her older sister but it's different having her around all of the time.

"None of our coaches before really knew how to coach us very much on the hurdles," Emily said. "We kind of did our thing. Kelly has really helped us out a lot with our technique and our form.

"She is really young, just being out of college, and she can really relate to us. She knows what we are going through and that probably helps the most."

Kelly Triplett admitted she didn't think much about running the hurdles when she was in high school.

"I was like these girls, I just ran them," she said. "Then going on to college and learning so many other things, I figured that I could bring some of those things back to them.

"Doing the three-step technique is really mental for the girls, especially at this level. But they are starting to believe they can do it and they see that everything they want is right there for them."

Kelly Triplett said the biggest thing about being a hurdler is not jumping.

"One thing people don't realize is that running hurdles, you are not jumping and striding in between for distance," she said. "It's about sprinting and speed.

"You don't jump hurdles, you hurdle hurdles."

Despite the team featuring a senior (Monito-Webber), a junior (Fraga), a sophomore (Triplett) and a freshman (Tara Whiting), they are still a very close group.

"There is an age difference, but when we are together we basically become one," said Emily Triplett. "But, it also pushes me because I want to be as good as Maya."

That competition among teammates has made the entire group stronger, according to Monito-Webber.

"Having someone like Emily running against me, it pushes me to be better each time we run," she said. "Most of the time, we are running right next to each other and neither one of us wants to back down from the other."

Monito-Webber and Emily Triplett run the 100-meter hurdles, the same distance as in the shuttle hurdle relay. Fraga is the third-best 400-meter hurdler in state.

"The 400 and 100 hurdles are very different," Fraga said. "Technique is crucial in the shuttle hurdle relay or the 100 hurdles, but in the 400 you have to be in shape and mentally tough."

City High's time of 1 minute 3.21 seconds Friday night at the Forwald Relays was a meet record and the fastest time in the state this year.

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