THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Girl of Iron: After tough start, McLean bouncing back for strong finish for Trojan track

Sometimes, looks can be deceiving.

Sure, Kinlee McLean wasn’t exactly losing many races at the start of the track and field season for Post Falls High as a senior.

She didn’t.

That being said ...

“My first couple of meets were a little rough, and I wasn’t feeling right,” McLean said. “Last year, I found out I was a little iron deficient, but it didn’t really affect me that much.”

McLEAN RETURNED to the doctor in April, where she was told that it, in fact, affected her more than she realized.

“I found out I was at the bottom of the healthy range for an average person,” said McLean, who also competed on the Trojans' cross country and basketball teams. “For an athlete, it’s even worse.”

After spring break, McLean ran a season-best time 26.09 seconds in the 200 at the Pasco Invitational and 57.77 in 400 at the District 1 All-Star Meet on Thursday at Post Falls High.

“I’ve been taking a liquid iron supplement and started feeling a little better,” McLean said. “And I’ve been performing a lot better too.”

McLean qualified for state in cross country in each of the last three years, but noted it was apparent something was off at the start of track season.

“I had a rough cross country season, and basketball wasn’t super great either,” McLean said. “I just thought I was tired. It’s my senior year, and maybe I’m just burnt out. My times weren’t that great in the fall and I wasn’t feeling like myself. At the start of track season, I realized something was wrong.”

As a senior, McLean averaged 4.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game for the Trojans, who finished 8-15.

“I just really thought, maybe I’m just really tired,” McLean said. “It’s my senior year, and maybe I’m just ready to graduate. But when I wasn’t as springy as I normally am, that’s when I noticed something was wrong.”

McLean is ranked fourth in the state in the 400. She also competes on the school’s 4x200 relay (ranked eighth in the state at 1:46.01) and 4x400 relay (seventh at 4:08.75).

“In the first couple of meets, I was just really tired and dizzy after races,” McLean said. “I wasn’t as locked in mentally at the start of the season. Now, I’ll finish my races and I’m not nearly as tired as I was two weeks ago. As soon as they are done, I’ll usually be ready for my next race.”

With the help of the supplements, and more emphasis on getting more iron in her diet, McLean has felt a change.

"I've been able to bounce back quicker than before," McLean said. "My energy is getting back to where it should be. I almost feel as if I can do my next event after the previous one ends."

In the Knight Invitational at Bishop Kelly High on April 20, McLean was second in the 200 (26.22) and third in the 400 (1:00.56).

“She’s been so mentally and physically tough to get where she’s at right now,” Post Falls track and field coach Wade Quesnell said. “She’s really dealt with it well, between school and all of her activities. To be a senior, it’s stressful with everything they have to deal with. But she’s handled it really well.”

IN DECEMBER, McLean signed to run track at Boise State, where she’ll compete in the 400.

“I was looking around at local schools after Junior Nationals last year,” McLean said. “I reached out to a lot of the different schools near me, because I really wanted to stay close to home. I was looking at Montana and also reached out to BSU. And they got back to me, and I had a call with the coach and they were one of my top options. After visiting the campus, I realized what a good fit for me it was. And it’s not too far from home, so it was a good deal all-around.”

McLean added the surrounding areas of Boise, such as Meridian — home of the state 5A track and field meet at Mountain View High — was a large selling point.

“It’s so neat and clean,” McLean said. “I’m really familiar with the area and some of the people down there I’ve been competing against for the last few years. So it doesn’t feel like it’s going to be a huge jump for me.”

While she weighed continuing her basketball career instead, her love of track grew while competing for the Spokane Speed Academy club program last summer.

“I was going to compete with them before my junior year, but I still liked basketball at the time,” McLean said. “So I wasn’t sure if I wanted to put all my eggs into that basket. After my junior year in track, I was injured and kind of felt like I got robbed from my season. And it turned out it was really fun to compete at such a high level.”

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on ‘X’, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.

    Kinlee McLean