Clete and Haley Younger have track in their blood.

The siblings were state champions in high school on the track, just like their father and uncle before them. Their father played football and ran track at South Dakota, and their uncle was a hurdler at Northern Iowa.

“It was the 220-yard run and 440-yard hurdles back then,” said Clete, referring to events that are now measured metrically such as the 200-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles.

Clete said his parents — Julie, who works in Des Moines at the Iowa Heart Center, and Dan, a social worker with juvenile delinquents in Des Moines — were huge influences on his decision to start competing in track.

“I was a hurdler since Day One in seventh grade,” Clete said. “It seemed cool, and I got into it and stuck with it.”

He didn’t always feel that way. Clete, now in his third season with the ISU track team, said there was a time in high school when he thought about quitting. Dan told him to stick with it.

“My father said how great it felt to be a state champion,” Clete said. “I listened [to him], and it was every bit as good as he said.”

Men’s head coach Steve Lynn said Clete did not go into the state championship of the 110-meter hurdles favored to win, but ran a good race and did. That win caught the eye of Lynn, who later asked Clete to join the team.

The elder Younger chose Iowa State because of his major — genetics. His goal was to make it through college and then head on to medical school after passing the MCAT test. Lynn laughed when he remembered first talking to Clete.

“When he came in, we talked about redshirting,” Lynn said. “He said, ‘Coach, there’s no reason to redshirt, because I’m going to be out of here in four years. I’m going to med school.’ I said, ‘Good. I’m glad you’re able to do that.'”

Clete took the MCAT a few weeks ago and is confident he did well, although he won’t find out the actual results until the end of June. He has yet to decide on where he is going to medical school but plans to be a cardiologist.

Lynn said although Clete isn’t a star on the track, he’s definitely a contributor on the team.

“Clete has made solid improvements on the track, and he’s an excellent student. This outdoor season was dominated by his preparation for the MCAT,” Lynn said. “He’s [also] a great guy to have on the team.”

Haley would agree. She said her decision to compete in track was not only influenced by her parents, but by Clete also.

Haley, sophomore in dietetics, said having an older brother at school helps her on the track and academically.

“He’s a big help with my homework, and he helped me with my technique and motivates me [on the track],” she said.

Of the two, Clete said it’s the younger Younger who is the better athlete.

“She was state champ in the 4×200, sixth in the 4×800 and second at Drake in the sprint medley,” he said. “She did a ton of events [in high school].”

Haley competes in the 400-meter hurdles for Iowa State but only did hurdles her freshman year in high school at the state meet.

Haley was hurt during this spring’s indoor season, but was able to take a redshirt.

“I was doing [resistance training with the] harnesses with Ada Anderson, and something popped,” Haley said.

She ended up injuring her knee and was forced to sit out and rehabilitate during the indoor season.

Haley’s season was cut short last weekend at Simpson College when she fell during the 400-meter hurdles.

“I wasn’t there, I was at Drake. But from what I understand, she was running the best race she had run all year,” said hurdles coach Scott Roberts.

“She got to that last hurdle, caught a toe and went down. She kind of got bruised up.”

Haley is looking forward to next year and hopes that she can stay healthy. Having Clete around for one more season will also be nice, she said.

“He’s a great influence on me and a role model,” she said.

Clete reciprocated by saying Haley is his best friend and someone that is always there to talk to.

Lynn said he feels that although Haley and Clete’s names probably won’t be mentioned in track recaps, they are not typical walk-on athletes.

“They are both kids we invited on the team,” Lynn said.

“[They’re] not just pure walk-ons. We wanted them to be part of the team.”