You can’t win ‘em all.

Cowichan Station’s Joanna Franke gave it her best shot, but came up short at the World Youth Track and Field Championships in Italy.

Franke, 17, went into the competition aiming for a personal record of more than 50.35 metres in the hammer throw and a place in the top six.

“When it came competition time, I felt prepared,’’ she noted. “I had done everything I could do to prepare myself for this event.’’

It all came down to successfully executing, something she’s done so many times before.

After three throws, the top 12 advanced to the final the next day. Unfortunately, Franke wasn’t one of them and didn’t make it out of the qualifying round.

“If I would have thrown around the distance I usually throw, I would have made the final,’’ she conceded.

She wound up placing 27th out of the 35 athletes entered.

The actual competition went by in a flash, Franke noted.

After two decent warm-up throws, she got on the board with a fair toss around 45 metres. But she could hardly believe her fate after the second and third throws were fouls.

“There were so many nervous jitters there that I could not really focus on what I had to do,’’ Franke indicated. “Before I knew it, my three throws were over and I was wishing I could do the whole thing over again.’’

It was still a great experience for Franke and she’s grateful to all the valley people who provided emotional and financial support.

“The atmosphere at this meet was amazing,’’ she pointed out. “Going to more international meets is definitely something I will continue to strive for. Although I did not do as well as I had planned, I get a little bit of relief in knowing that this was my first international meet.

“Despite my mediocre result, I know that this is just a stepping stone to more high-level meets. This is the base of my elite career.’’

After the world championships, Franke was in Prince Edward Island for the Canadian Junior Nationals.

She competed in the higher 18- and 19-year-old age group and placed second in the hammer throw.