Three Talawanda High School students competed in the indoor Ohio Division 1 Indoor Track & Field State Championship, earning two indoor personal bests looking ahead to the outdoor season.
“Indoor is different than outdoor because it is self-guided and you have to motivate yourself. There is no one holding you accountable but yourself during indoor track, which is a lot different from outdoor track,” sophomore Adriana Luking said.
Adriana competed in the 1600m run and achieved an indoor personal record of 5:14:31. She seeded 20th and finished 10th overall, shaving four seconds off her time.
“She ran a really smart race. It was kind of fun, she had a lot left at the end. She had a great kick,” said second-year head coach Brad Hoblitzell.
“I was just so grateful to be able to have the chance to go after being so close in cross country and not making it to state,” Adriana said. “I didn’t think I was going to be able to, so making it into the top 24 was a surprise.”
Adriana shared she had a “rough” start to her indoor season, feeling as if her times weren’t fast enough, but “competing at state turned it all around.”
Junior Lucía Rodbro raced in the 3200m and reached the podium, placing eighth with a time of 10:59:39. Rodbro currently holds several school records for Talawanda, in the 3200m and 1600m.
“She ran a really gutsy race,” said Hoblitzell about Lucía’s performance.
The junior was the 2023 girls cross country runner of the year and 2022 Southwest Ohio Conference girls cross country runner of the year.
Lucía also qualified for the New Balance Nationals in Boston, MA on March 7-10, where she will run the 5000m race on Friday and the 3200m on Saturday.
Senior Olivia Andrews competed in the pole vault, tying for 17th place with a jump of 10-06. Olivia was also captain of the soccer team and hopes to compete at the collegiate level.
“This has kind of been this year where she’s like, ‘I really want to go after it,’” Hoblitzell said. “She’s just worked really hard. She’s actually on the verge of a big breakthrough.”
Olivia didn’t have much experience jumping indoors before this season. At the state meet, she jumped on a pole she’d never jumped on before and outperformed her seed. Looking ahead to the spring outdoor season, Olivia aims to hit 12 feet, which will put her in the conversation for the state meet.
Olivia also qualified for the Adidas Track Nationals in Virginia Beach on March 15-17.
“She’s just a really hard worker, extra training, you know she puts a lot into it. It’s really neat to see that payoff,” Hoblitzell said. “All of them did a great job. They’re three of the hardest-working kids I’ve ever seen. They really are.”
All three athletes will compete for Talawanda in the outdoor track and field season.
