When she came to Maize South before her senior year, Sydney Mortensen loved that the workouts designed by track and field coach Steve Rasmussen and Brent Pfeifer were the hardest she had ever completed.

She believed in the process and the work she was doing, and now after Thursday’s season-opening Southeast Invitational, Mortensen has the results to back that belief.

After four years of hurdling, Mortensen won her first race on Thursday when she completed the 300-meter hurdles in a personal-best time of 48.18 seconds. It was a nearly 4-second improvement over her previous best at Olathe Northwest, where she ran for her first three seasons.

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