Center Grove sprinter Yeast poised to improve on spectacular freshman season

Last spring, Kiyah Yeast wasted little time establishing herself as the dominant sprinter in the area, cruising to county and sectional championships in the 100- and 200-meter dashes as a freshman. Opposing coaches will be happy to know that the Center Grove sophomore has gotten even better.

“I think there’s a really good chance that she’s going to break 12 seconds (in the 100), which means she’s at least in the hunt for a state title,” Center Grove coach Wes Dodson said. “She’s really, really at the top of her game.”

Yeast placed eighth in the 100 at last year’s state meet, finishing with a time of 12.22 seconds. She was also a state qualifier in the 200 and the 4×100 relay, placing 18th and 10th, respectively, in those events.

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She’s confident that she can improve on those this spring. Last season, she said, gave her a chance to see where she stood and what she needed to work on, and she’s spent the offseason trying to shore up any perceived weaknesses.

“I really need to put together a complete race,” Yeast said. “Sometimes my start isn’t that good, but I feel like if I was to have a complete race with a good start, a good middle and good finish, that I could definitely be up there.”

If the recently completed indoor season is any indication, she’s putting more complete races together.

At last month’s Hoosier State Relays in Bloomington, the unofficial state indoor meet, Yeast placed second in the 60-meter dash in 7.6 seconds, just .04 seconds back of Hamilton Southeastern’s Camille Christopher and nearly than a quarter of a second faster than the 7.81 she ran as a ninth-grader.

That showing helped to fuel Yeast’s confidence heading into her outdoor season, which begins Saturday at the Columbus North Invitational.

“I felt like I was coming on strong at the end of my 60,” she said, “so I feel like outdoors I can really carry that through a full 100 and I can really improve my time from last year.”

One of Yeast’s main goals for this year is to break the 12-second barrier in the 100, which would not only put her in state contention but also shatter the school record of 12.15 held by former Trojan Olivia Rassel, who is now at the University of Dayton.

She would also like to get into the 24-second range in the 200, which would almost certainly put her on the awards podium at the state meet — six girls came in under 25 seconds in last year’s final.

In addition to the continuing work on improving her starts, Yeast has also benefited from a productive offseason in the weight room.

“What I think has really made the difference — it’s hard to believe, but she’s stronger than she was last year,” Dodson said. “She was already a tall, strong girl, but she is lots stronger.

“She’s considerably faster (than last year) already, and I think it’s all in her strength.”

With a strong core of sprinters, jumpers and hurdlers led by Yeast, senior Hailey Goines and junior Julia Riley, Dodson feels like this year’s team could be the best in school history. Goines won in the 60-meter hurdles at the Hoosier State relays while also placing third in the long jump and sixth in the high jump.

“We have two girls that are placing high in multiple events,” Dodson said, “and not at the sectional level — at the state level. When you have that, and you have the rest of the team trying to be like them, it raises the level of the whole team.”

Yeast has already proven during the indoor season that she’s raised her individual bar quite a bit. Just how fast she can go this spring remains to be seen — but Dodson was willing to make at least one preseason prediction.

“Around here,” he said, “people are going to be scared of her. How’s that?”

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Kiyah Yeast enjoyed a solid freshman year on the track. A look at how she fared last postseason:

Event;Best time;State finish

100;12.22;8th

200;25.61;18th

4×100;48.68;10th

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