DIKE - Perhaps one day when Sid Hansen gets older, he'll tell his children how during the summer when he was their age he'd routinely ride his bike seven miles into town and seven miles back.

It was those lengthy treks that the Dike-New Hartford track and field standout credits with helping to provide a foundation for his current level of success.

"It helped out a lot with my leg strength and endurance," Hansen recalls.

Both will be tested this week at the Drake Relays.

Hansen will compete in the high jump Thursday afternoon and long jump Friday morning.

The Wolverines' junior enters Des Moines with the state's top long jump of 22-6 3/4.

Hansen also has cleared 6-6 and ranks fourth among preps in the high jump. Hansen is the only high school boys' qualifier in both events.

"You don't see many athletes that excel in both field events," head coach Barry Cuvelier said. "They usually have one stronger than the other, but Sid seems to have a handle on both right now.

"To understand how the body transitions itself from speed to height or length is difficult. Sometimes they do kind of contradict each other, and it's a continuous challenge to get the kids to transfer that weight in different areas."

When it comes to the long jump, Hansen has managed to use his vertical to soar beyond the competition.

"He gets up a lot higher than me," said senior teammate David Weber, who also will be competing at Drake and placed fourth in the long jump at state a year ago.

"He is a lot taller than me, too, but as far as height goes, if I could get that kind of height I wouldn't really be stoppable."

Hansen has always been strong in the long jump, as evidenced by his ability to take the lead on his final jump in last year's Drake Relays before settling for runner-up. But it wasn't until recently that the D-NH junior raised eyebrows in the high jump. He cleared 6-6 in the season-opening Wartburg Indoor.

"When I jumped 6-6 in my first meet, I started to like the high jump more, but I still consider the long jump my main event," Hansen said. "The toughest part is having to deal with the physical stress that it puts on me. If I do the long jump first in a competition, I might not be able to do the high jump as well because it really takes a toll on my jumping knee."

While he has already achieved plenty of success, health has been Hansen's kryptonite. He battled through injury as an underclassman and last summer broke his right leg when he fell 20 feet rock climbing as a member of a student ambassador program in Figi. He recovered from the fall and got the cast off in time for football season, but getting back on the track was his main concern.

"The thing I enjoy most about track is showing off my individual talent," Hansen said. "It's a lot different than other sports. Track is a team sport, but you can also show how good individually you are.

"I'm a competitive person when it comes to different things, and I just think track brings out that competitiveness in me."

While he constantly pushes himself to set new personal records, Hansen also knows how to have fun. During meets and in practice he can be found joking around with teammates.

"He loves to compete, but he also enjoys what he's doing, and I think that's what makes him unique," Cuvelier said. "Sometimes you wonder how focused he is, but when it comes time for the competition he's one that really has an ability to block everything out and take care of what he needs to do in order to compete."

Hansen will be one of favorites in the Drake long jump, as opposed to last season when he flew into the meet under the radar.

"I think my mind-set is going to be different," Hansen admitted. "I believe that I'm still the number one long jumper in the state, and I think I might be a little more nervous about it.

"I've noticed this year that I feel like there's more pressure on me, and I don't how it affects my performance. But I think it might push me a little more."

Contact Nick Petaros at (319) 291-1428 or nick.petaros@wcfcourier.com