WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT?

     Heavens! By now, we all know about Pete Kostelnick, BHS-2005, and all his wonderful accomplishments as an ultra-marathon runner. The Kornerman has written about those numerous times.
     But correct me if I'm wrong.  
     The Kornerman has been perusing my mind, wondering if our little central Iowa community has EVER had any individual, with any realistic hopes of earning qualification, IN ANY SPORT, for representing the good old USA in OLYMPIC competition.
     I don't think so, but.......in Atlanta, GA, on February 29, two natives of Boone Iowa will "give it a shot."
     That day, former Toreador athletes, Brogan Austin, BHS-2010, and Danna Kelly Herrick, BHS-2005, will be entered in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials......a qualification event for the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
     Before I provide additional information, let me make this crystal clear. I became aware of all this, really by accident. Lance Bergeson has been interviewing and writing stories about 19 Iowa natives, former Iowa collegian runners or current Iowa residents, who will be competing in Atlanta.
     So, much of the material I am providing was obtained by Mr. Bergeson, via his interviews with Brogan and Danna, and is being recycled here.
     Ladies first. Danna, 33, who's parents, Bob and Kathy reside in Boone, was coached at BHS by
Scott Kiesel and became a two-time All-American cross country and steeplechase runner for Truman State University in Kirksville, MO.
     She and her husband, Justin, a runner in his own right, lived in Urbandale for a time but now are residents of Shelby Township, Michigan, where she works as a physical therapist when not on the running circuit.
     This will be Danna's third attempt in the Marathon Trials. She told Bergeson she has learned from her freshmen/sophomore marathon mistakes. In 2012, she learned of the competitiveness and in 2016 in Los Angeles, she learned via some training errors.
     In October of 2018, in the Frankfort Marathon in Germany, she earned a Trials A standard, with a time of 2:32.19. She followed up with work in a six-week training camp but a heel bruise kept her from competing in a Boston race in 2019. In fact, she didn't race much that year at all.
     She said the Atlanta course consists of three eight-mile loops and is a very "challenging course."
     Danna feels she can be a strong 20-25 finisher and "on a great day," could be in the top 10-15.
     She said Iowa is, and always will be, "home" for the couple and that they will return to Iowa when they're ready to start a family. She would also like to do some middle school or even high school coaching and would like to return for the 2024 trials.
     Brogan Austin, 28, was coached by Gary Achenbach at Boone High School and was a good runner for the Drake University Bulldogs. His parents no longer reside in Boone.
     In December of 2018, he made his first big eye-opener in marathon running by winning the U.S. Marathon in Sacramento, CA in 2:12.38. Shoe companies and racing teams noticed and started providing financial offers but Brogan deferred.
     Austin, who has continued working and living in West Des Moines, won a Road to Gold eight mile marathon test in 2019 but then began being bothered by injuries.......developing plantar fascilitis last March.
     He didn't start running again until December when he finished, what he declared, a "surprising" 28th in the Houston Half-Marathon in 1:01.52, which was just 15 seconds behind the top American finisher.
     Ready for the trials, he feels like he's now in the best shape of his life.
     He said he's always had some elevation problems and would consider a move to Colorado to get more hills involved in his training. However, he loves living and working in Des Moines and the friendships he has developed there and said it would be a hard decision for him to move.
     Brogan told Bergeson he wanted to continue running after college but, for the sport of running, not any money considerations. He just wanted to keep running for the running.
     Regarding the upcoming trials, he said there are 10 guys with a chance for qualification and 20-30 others who think they have a chance.
     Finally, a shoutout to Mike Loehrer, BHS-64, who gave me the first indication that there was a good story to be told here about some former Toreador athletes. Thanks Mike and, of course, thanks again to Lance Bergeson.
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     BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: Ray Elsberry, 82, Ogden.......Gary Dean Bakerink, 76, Greenfield. Boone area survivor is a daughter, Jeanna Warrick of Boone.........Susan Rouse, 56, Boone........Mary Frances Turner, 88, Boone.........Kenneth Dean Nutt, 92, rural Boone. Luther HS-45. Joined his father and brother, Ralph, as a lifetime farmer until retirement. Army vet. Married Dorothy Nervig in 1951. Survivors include his wife, son David, and daughter, Dianne..........LaNora Sullivan, 80, Boone. Survivors include her son, John, of Boone and three daughters, including Laurie Pritchard of Boone.........Diane Ray Abbas, 68, Deland, FL. Born in Boone. Retired from Woodward Resource Center. Survivors include a brother, three sons and a daughter.........Connie McCoy Lacey, 81, Owensboro, KY. Formerly of Boone. Born in Ogden. Pilot Mound HS. Married Pat McCoy in 1957 and he passed away in 2001. Married Jim Lacey in 2004. Worked for Bell Telephone and as a certified nurses assistant at Ledges Manor, Boone County Hospital and the Evangelical Free Church Home. Survivors include her husband, Jim, two sons, including Pat McCoy of Boone, two daughters, LuAnn Ellsberry and Debra Mallicoat, both of Boone, a step-son and step-daughter, five sisters, including Sue Phipps of Pilot Mound, a brother and a sister-in-law, Judy Bennett of Pilot Mound.
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     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 928 South Jackson, Boone, Iowa 50036-4932. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email your stories/memories/comments.......
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.