Competing in the 13-14 year old age bracket, Freeman had the top mark out of the 50 entries going into the meet and was the top ranked middle school discus thrower on athletic.net this past season.
In the preliminaries, she moved into second place with a throw of 118’ after a competitor unexpectedly threw a personal record of 125’. On her first throw in the finals, she secured first place with a throw of 128’10”. Her second throw of 130’10.75” took the gold.
“She was nervous. It was the best competition she has ever had,” her mother, Briana Freeman, said. “It was a great experience.”
“Karlee is a tremendous natural athlete, but she is also willing to put in the time it takes to get better,” Raymond HS Head Track and Field Coach Mike Tully said. “She puts in a lot of time outside of track practice working on her technique. She has also become a regular in the weight room. I think Karlee is just scratching the surface of what she can do in track, especially the discus. Her spin and release improved a ton this year, but she can still get better. The best part is that I know she'll continue to work and improve. I'm looking forward to working with her over the next four years.”
She also competed in the 100 hurdles, but did not qualify for the finals after finishing fifth in her heat with a time of 16.31. Only those who came in first in their heats went on to finals.
Freeman will be a freshman at Raymond this year. Her mother, Briana (Enlow) Freeman and uncle, Denny Freeman, were also state champion discus throwers in high school.
Freeman and her family were very thankful for the support they received from the community. “If it wasn’t for them, we couldn’t have done it. It’s so nice for the community to come out and support athletes,” father Phil Freeman said.