• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Ankeny Fanatic

Your Ankeny Sports Resource

  • Home
  • About
    • Support Us
  • News
    • Podcast
  • Hawks
    • Baseball
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Softball
      • Roster
      • Schedule
  • Jaguars
    • Baseball
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Softball
      • Roster
      • Schedule
You are here: Home / Hawks / Spring / Girls' Track / Ankeny Fanatic Prep of the Week: Kendra Winfrey, Ankeny girls’ track/softball

Ankeny Fanatic Prep of the Week: Kendra Winfrey, Ankeny girls’ track/softball

May 23, 2022 by Dan Holm

Ankeny’s Kendra Winfrey competes in the shot put during a Class 4A regional meet on May 12 at Johnston. She went on to place second in the event at the state meet on Friday at Drake Stadium, where she helped the Hawkettes to a seventh-place finish in Class 4A. (Photo by Drue Wolfe)

Ankeny junior Kendra Winfrey placed second in the shot put on Friday in the girls’ Class 4A state track meet at Drake Stadium. She uncorked a throw of 39 feet 11 inches on her final attempt, allowing her to move up from fourth place.

Winfrey helped Ankeny to a seventh-place finish overall. She contributed eight of the Hawkettes’ 44.5 points.

Winfrey is also a standout pitcher on the Ankeny softball team. The Hawkettes will open their season on Monday with a doubleheader at Waukee Northwest.

Here is some inside info on Winfrey:

Congratulations on your runner-up finish. What was your goal going into the meet? Did you feel like you had a chance to win the title?

My goal was to be state champion. Unfortunately, it wasn’t my time, but I do think I had every capability to win it.

Caitlyn Cox of Valley won the event with a throw of 40-7.25. Are you surprised that she was the only competitor to surpass 40 feet?

Caitlyn has been a competitor since the beginning. We have gone head-to-head in many meets, and she has only increased distance from the start so as much as I wanted it, I think the title is in the right hands. I am not surprised she was the only one to throw past 40.

I know you were pretty unhappy with your 14th-place finish in the shot put at the Drake Relays last month. Did that subpar performance provide a lot of motivation for you?

My subpar performance at Drake was something I reflected on and then forgot about. I couldn’t bring any of that negativity into another meet, especially state.

Your teammate, Hannah Baier, placed fourth in the discus on Thursday, so the two of you combined to score 13 points for the team. Another Hawkette, Ja’Dein Madison, was also a state qualifier in the shot. Do you feel like Ankeny has the best combination of throwers in the state?

I believe the throwing team at Ankeny can do some major damage. While there are plenty of phenomenal throwers in the state, I truly believe three of the best belonged to Ankeny.

You also competed in the discus frequently this season. What is the biggest difference between throwing the discus and the shot?

Discus is much more technical, which is why I have so much respect for Hannah.

Ankeny’s Kendra Winfrey throws a pitch during a Class 5A regional semifinal at Ankeny Centennial last season. Winfrey was a second-team all-conference pick as a sophomore, when she helped the Hawkettes to a 21-17 record. (Photo by Drue Wolfe)

Now you can turn your full attention to softball. Do you feel like you are ready to pitch a complete game, or will you maybe need to build yourself up to that?

Now that track has come to a close, all of my focus is on softball. I believe I am ready to throw a full game, if I throw my best.

How difficult has it been to juggle the two sports in the spring? Didn’t that put a lot of strain on your arm to be practicing the shot put at the same time that you were throwing?

The balance is a tad brutal, but luckily I’ve been taught the proper way to throw both the shot and a softball to where there is little to no strain on my arm. The only issue is exhaustion and overworking. There is thankfully never any real pain in my shoulder.

How many different pitches do you throw?

I throw four pitches throughout a game.

What are your goals for the season?

I think we’ve got a great shot at getting to state with our personnel that we are carrying this year.

Plans for college? Do you know which of the two sports you want to pursue at the next level?

I have my heart set on playing softball, and I’ve got a couple of options as far as schools to attend.

Filed Under: Girls' Track, Hawks, Softball Tagged With: Featured, Kendra Winfrey

Primary Sidebar

Support Ankeny Fanatic

Recent Posts

  • Centennial standouts Balashaitis, Martin named to Class 3A all-tournament team
  • Centennial boys return to Roosevelt, sweep pair of games against Roughriders
  • ‘To be mentioned alongside her is a great honor!’: Kennedy ties Lindaman’s HR mark
  • Hawks rally for 6 runs in 7th inning to salvage split of twinbill at S.E. Polk
  • ‘We just had to trust the process’: Ankeny girls beat S.E. Polk to end four-game slide

Find Us on Facebook

Ankeny Fanatic

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017

Categories

  • Hawks
    • Fall
      • Boys’ Cross Country
      • Boys’ Golf
      • Football
      • Girls’ Cross Country
      • Girls’ Swimming
      • Volleyball
    • Spring
      • Boys’ Soccer
      • Boys’ Tennis
      • Boys’ Track
      • Girls’ Golf
      • Girls’ Soccer
      • Girls’ Tennis
      • Girls’ Track
    • Summer
      • Baseball
      • Softball
        • Roster
    • Winter
      • Boys’ Basketball
      • Boys’ Bowling
      • Boys’ Swimming
      • Girls’ Basketball
      • Girls’ Bowling
      • Boys’ Wrestling
  • Jaguars
    • Fall
      • Boys’ Cross Country
      • Boys’ Golf
      • Football
      • Girls’ Cross Country
      • Girls’ Swimming
      • Volleyball
    • Spring
      • Boys’ Soccer
      • Boys’ Tennis
      • Boys’ Track
      • Girls’ Golf
      • Girls’ Soccer
      • Girls’ Tennis
      • Girls’ Track
    • Summer
      • Baseball
      • Softball
    • Winter
      • Boys’ Basketball
      • Girls’ Basketball
      • Wrestling
  • Top Sports Stories
    • Football
    • Volleyball
  • Baseball
  • Softball

© 2025 Ankeny Fanatic. All rights reserved.