KALISPELL — Aiden Krause has been excelling as a thrower in track and field at Kalispell Glacier High School since first picking up the sport his freshman year. It paid off, and now he's set to throw at the Division I level at North Dakota State University.
"It means a lot, you know; I've worked really hard," said Krause, who has signed to to join the track and field team at NDSU. "I almost didn't throw freshman year because I wasn't really sure about it. My mom convinced me to and I'm really happy that she did."
Not only did Krause place first for discuss at state last year with his throw of 174 feet, 10 inches but he placed second the year before as only a sophomore with a throw of 152-2.
"At the end of that season, I got second place my sophomore year and I had a coach contact me after that and I was like, 'I didn't know that I was that good,'" said Krause. "I didn't think that I'd have anybody talk to me that early and it kind of got me excited about it."
Krause’s head track coach, Connor Fuller, has also coached him on the football field the past four years, and knows when it comes to Krause what you see is what you get.
"He is someone who is him you know, he's not going to be someone he doesn't want to be or someone else who he thinks he should be," said Fuller. "He's going to be a guy that wears some fancy Rishi socks out there and just competes and is not afraid of the moment, and when he's his authentic self it's pretty fun to watch."
With his collegiate career at North Dakota State set to begin next year, Krause has one more big goal to hit on his checklist before his final year of high school track comes to an end.
"For myself, I'm hoping to win discus again like I did last year and (I'm) kind of chasing the state record that's out there," said Krause with a grin. "You know, it'd be a big thing to hit, but I really want to."
The discuss state record has been standing since 1982 at 193-7, and this year Krause hit a new PR of 192-6, setting himself up to potentially break the record at state for Class AA in Great Falls at the state meet May 24-25.
"He's a goal-oriented young man, and if he puts his mind to something, he's got a chance to get it," said Fuller. "That is a great throw and that's gonna be a challenge for him, but if anyone can do it, it's Aiden Krause."
