The boys used to call Hanna Moore a cheater.
A track competitor since the age of 5, she was faster than the boys way back then. She doesn't remember ever not being fast. The only thing that slowed her down was an ankle surgery that kept her out of track her first two years of high school.
Now a junior, Moore is competing in the 200 meters, the long jump and the 400-meter relay at the MSHSAA Class 4 state track championships starting Friday in Jefferson City.
"It's pretty exciting," said Moore, who nearly qualified in the 300-hurdles, too. "I was pretty disappointed (about finishing fifth in the 300-hurdles), but I guess it happens. You can't make it in everything."
A natural talent from the start, she competed in the Junior Olympics in 2013 as a multi-event competitor.
"I did decent," Moore said. "I didn't medal or anything, but it was a good experience to have."
As she grew, through, her ankles started to hurt more and more. Moore runs on the outside of her feet and the form puts extra pressure on her ligaments. She tried inserts for her shoes and all sorts of other things but nothing worked. As a freshman, she decided to have surgery on her ligaments. It kept her out for the entire season, and the mental recovery process also kept her out sophomore year.
"I was pretty excited and I was ready for it," Moore said of her first season of high school track.
Her ankles still hurt at times.
"I'm probably just going to always have to deal with it because it's just the way I run," Moore said. "I was surprised to get back into it like I did."
Softer tracks help some, but ultimately she has to decide she's pushed her ankles too far.
"Her pain tolerance is pretty high and we will push her as far as she can go," Dexter track coach Kim Waldner said. "She's that type of athlete that she wants to win and she is going to push through that pain."
Moore pushes through track practices with the Wildcats and pushes through additional workouts in Poplar Bluff. She trains every day. This week she's focusing on the long jump.
Where the 100 gets the most attention at the Olympics, Moore prefers the runs where a little condition and heart is mixed into the equation, thus the 200.
"I guess I just have the mental ability to just keep going," Moore said. "And I like running the curve, that's fun. The challenge of being a good curve runner."
Moore says the 200 is her favorite while Waldner thinks her favorite event is the 400, which she didn't run this year but probably will next year. Moore didn't run the 400 this year because it immediately follows the 300-hurdles. She said they needed to choose.
At the sectional meet, Moore won the 200 in 25.47 seconds and placed third in the long jump by clearing 16-feet, 2-inches. She, Paige Moore, Alexa Werneck and Rhylan Hillis finished fourth in the relay in 50.98 to qualify for state.
"I expected myself to (qualify) for the most part just because I have trained so hard at it," Moore said.
Added Waldner, "I expected her to win. I probably put a little too much pressure on her."
Moore is seeded fourth in the 200 and the seed ahead of her was 0.05 seconds faster. Moore would like to win, of course, but her goal is a podium finish.
"She's right there and I think with girls right beside her, she is going to run faster," Waldner said. "Hanna is a competitor and that's what I like to see in her. She wants to win."
Waldner added that Moore is in a good spot for the 200 and the long jump because they take place at generally the same time, so when she warms up, she'll essentially be warming up for both.
The state meet runs Friday and Saturday at Jefferson City High School.