Maddison Molacek, a standout from Willmar, faced challenges at her first state track and field championship, failing to record a mark in the discus event due to poor weather conditions. Her coach emphasized the importance of resilience, reminding her that she has two more years to compete.
May 8---- Maddison Molacek's first time on a big stage was a rough day.
The Willmar standout reached the state track and field championship meet last season as a sophomore in the Class AA girls' discus. She had to throw in the wind and the rain. The wind, according to Molacek, seemed to kick up every time she walked into the circle.
"It wasn't the greatest weather conditions that day," said Willmar girls track and field coach Brady Krupa. "It makes the discus a little more slippery coming off your hands and I know she kind of struggled to keep that thing inbounds."
Each of her three throws ended up as scratches. Molacek left her first state meet without getting a mark on the board, let alone placing.
"It was kind of a hard day mentally," Krupa said. "I kind of let her have five minutes and I talked to her and said, 'We're only sophomores, right? We got two years of this. We got two more years of having fun.'"
That dour state experience has become a turning point for Molacek.
"I just look back at it where I keep it as a chip on my shoulder," Molacek said. "I don't ever want to feel that ever again."
Now a junior, Molacek has emerged as one of the top discus throwers in the state at the midway point of the season.
Molacek threw a personal-best 142 feet, 4 inches at the Hamline Elite Meet on April 24. That mark stands as the best in Class AA and the second best in the state.
Forest Lake's Alexis Fahey owns the best girls' discus throw statewide at 161-0. Then there's Molacek, followed by Fergus Falls' Brook Zierden at 142-0 and Stewartville's Ella Theobald at 140-6. Theobald is the defending AA champion.
No other throwers have beaten 140 feet yet this season.
That personal-best came on Molacek's first throw at Hamline. She figured it was an OK throw, somewhere around 130, when it hit the ground.
"I walked out of the ring and I kind of had my head down," Molacek said. "In my mind I was like, oh, it wasn't a very good throw but it's fine. We have five more. It'll be OK."
Then came the announcement.
"I heard the guy say 142-4 and I just lit up," Molacek said. "My hands went over my mouth and I almost cried. I just saw my mom and dad running at me and trying to give me a hug.
"It was so surreal. I did not expect it to be my PR at all."
She stayed near that mark on two more throws, hitting 142-1 on her second and 140-4 on her fifth attempt.
Molacek made up for missing her mark on the big stage last season.
"Her face lit up and it was awesome," Krupa said. "It's one of those reasons why you coach, to see kids hit that great PR and you see their face light up. It just makes their whole meet and they can just go chase more PRs."
Molacek's goal going into this season was to be consistently good. To achieve that, she puts herself through plenty of mental reps.
Maddison Molacek struggled at her first state track and field championship, failing to record a mark in the discus event due to adverse weather conditions.
The wind and rain made the discus slippery, contributing to Molacek's inability to keep her throws inbounds, resulting in three scratches.
Coach Brady Krupa acknowledged the tough conditions and reassured Molacek that they still had two more years to improve and enjoy the sport.
With two more years of eligibility, Maddison Molacek has the opportunity to redeem herself and improve her performance in future competitions.
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"Even just sitting in my bed at night, I'm always thinking of where my feet go, how high my arm is (and) how to release it," Molacek said. "Mental reps, I feel, are really important. And also reps without even throwing. Going through the motions is really important to consistently get your feet and your arms where you're supposed to be."
Looking back at her Elite Meet performance, Molacek was in a good mental state. She had a good talk with her coaches and parents on the drive to St. Paul. At the venue, Molacek's dad, Trent, had her stretch and run around the track for a warm-up, utilizing the track part of track and field.
"I said 'I'm pretty sure I throw; I don't run,'" Maddison said in jest. "We had a really good warm-up. A big reason why I threw really well at Hamline was because I was in such a good mental state."
Molacek has also drawn from her experience making the state tournament in girls basketball. She was a key figure in the Cardinals winning the Section 8AAA championship and reaching state for the first time since 2018.
Krupa has seen Molacek become more goal-driven this season. Molacek hit another one of her goals during the Section 6AA True Team meet on Wednesday. She set a PR in the shot put with a toss of 37-10. That throw is sixth best in Class AA.
"She's got individual goals she's trying to achieve every practice and for every meet of every week," Krupa said. "She also gives herself mini punishments. One of them was if she didn't hit her daily goals or weekly goals, it's no phone during the day."
Krupa added, "Being that goal-driven where she likes to keep things down this single avenue that she likes to see, it's helped the team in girls basketball, it's helped get to the section final in volleyball and now it's helping her achieve her goals now in track and field."
There are plenty of big stages left this season. The Central Lakes Conference championship is on May 19 at Brainerd. The Section 8AA championships are on May 27 in Thief River Falls and May 30 at Rocori High School in Cold Spring. That's followed by the Class AA state tournament on June 5-6 at St. Michael-Albertville High School.
Using her Elite Meet experience, Molacek is focused on redeeming herself on the state's biggest stage.
"It was awesome to know that I can perform well at a high stage," Molacek said. "Looking back (last season) at state, I wasn't in the right mental state. But when I was going into Hamline, I was like, 'I'm gonna PR, I'm gonna do well.' Talking very highly of myself really helped me perform high at an intense, high-competition meet like that."