MORGANTOWN — For years, the University High track and field team enjoyed success at the state level, mostly in distance events. This season, that trend has come to an end.
Freshman Sierra Lanham has made an impact as a first-time varsity athlete, currently holding the best mark in Class AAA girls’ long jump (17.04 feet) by nearly six inches, and also has the fourth-best AAA time (12.91) in the 100-meter dash.
“She works hard at what she does,” University coach Ed Frohnapfel said. “She’s been among the leaders in the state since the very first meet. We’re hoping to build upon that as we work through the season.”
Lanham is excited to take on the spotlight, with hopes it continues to bring attention to her teammates.
“It feels pretty good to know that I could be the face for the sprinters at this school, and that some people recognize the sprinters. There are some really good sprinters and field athletes that don’t get recognized on this team — they’re good, but they don’t get noticed,” she said. “It feels really good — I feel honored that I could be the person that gets my teammates recognized. There are some seniors on this team that haven’t really been talked about, and now they’re getting noticed more.”
Not only does Lanham’s success add potential for the Hawks to rack up additional points at big meets, as well as during regional and state championship competition at the end of the season, but it also adds an extra dynamic to the team that has sparked excitement.
Frohnapfel hopes that excitement will translate into long-term growth for the program, as the Hawks have continuously struggled to draw numbers that compare to similarly sized Class AAA rivals.
“We have a problem with just our numbers overall. A third of our events we don’t even have people entered in. It’s nice to have an athlete that can be competitive in field events and sprints. It gives us someone there to follow and cheer for where we used to not have anything like that,” he said. “On the field events side, you hope to have more participation. The more people you have, the more chance that you have that diamond in the rough show up.”
