Franklin junior Aubrey Runyon broke Johnson County meet records in the 100 and 300 hurdles earlier this month.
Daily Journal file photo
When Aubrey Runyon came out for the track team in middle school, it didn’t take her long to gravitate toward the hurdles.
“Just running, I get bored,” she said. “Running straight ahead — I don’t want to run straight. Hurdling gives me an obstacle to get over.”
Runyon has done a pretty good job of clearing just about every obstacle placed in her way ever since, especially lately. At last week’s Johnson County meet, the Franklin sophomore won the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, establishing meet records in both with respective times of 14.94 and 46.08 seconds.
Both marks topped anything that Runyon ran during her freshman year — which, to be fair, didn’t offer a large sample size. A broken ankle suffered while playing club volleyball in the winter delayed the start of Runyon’s track career. She didn’t compete in the hurdles at all until late in the season, with her debut in the 300 not coming until the sectional meet.
Despite that, Runyon still qualified for the regional in both events and actually made it to the state meet in the 100 hurdles, finishing 24th with a time of 15.57 seconds.
“We were kind of bummed last year, because we knew her potential,” Franklin coach Ray Lane said. “To have her come into this season healthy, and kind of picking up where she left off, has been fun.”
It’s also been pretty fun for Runyon, who has never really fully immersed herself in track before — she also plays volleyball and basketball for the Grizzly Cubs — but is looking to change that as she prepares for a possible future at the collegiate level.
Lane describes Runyon as a perfectionist, one who’s quickly becoming aware of what she’s capable of within the sport and increasingly eager to reach her full potential. This summer provides an opportunity to continue that journey.
“I’m planning to join a club, so that’ll obviously help with starts and technique overall,” Runyon said. “I watch videos of myself, and there’s so much I can improve on.”
Helping Runyon’s cause this spring is the fact that she’s surrounded by a talented cast of characters. The Grizzly Cubs were ranked 15th in the state coaches’ poll last week after a strong runner-up showing at the county meet, and they’ve got several athletes with previous state meet experience.
One of those is senior Brooke Coffman, who finished right behind Runyon in both hurdles events at county and was a regional champion in the 300 hurdles last spring.
Having Coffman by her side every day “helps a lot,” Runyon said. “Even in practice, she pushes me and makes me better. It helps me know what I need to work on.”
Runyon’s county times would have placed her in the top 15 at state last season, and she’s still got five weeks left to get those numbers even lower.
How much lower? When asked if she has specific goal times in mind, Runyon made it clear she’s more focused on the process than she is on the clock.
One, she figures, will take care of the other.
“I’m just trying to run a clean race,” she said, noting that she has hit at least one hurdle in every race so far this season.
Lane, meanwhile, can’t help but salivate at the possibilities over the next two-plus years. Runyon has already made a fair bit of noise during this truncated first half of her high school career, but her coach is confident that she’s still nowhere near her ceiling.
“The exciting thing is that she’s still cleaning things up,” Lane said. “She’s going to be scary in May.”
IF YOU GO
Mid-State Conference meet
Where: Decatur Central HS
When: Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.
