Being a state champion was what drove Hutchinson senior Alex Rodriguez to practice in the rain, go to the weight room when she didn’t feel like it, and shovel her car out of the snow to go practice her throws for her final season.

She let the chase for a title consume her and in the end, her efforts were rewarded with the Class 6A shot put championship. Rodriguez came inches from matching her personal-best throw, and her Friday best of 42 feet even was enough to win her first title at Cessna Stadium.

Rodriguez had finished in the top five the past three seasons at state in the shot put, including a second-place finish in 2014.

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