Columbiana junior Julia Rapp and Crestview senior Will Hardenbrook are blessed with great athletic talent, and along with hard work and dedication, they are rising above the competition in track and field — in part because of their lineage.

“My mom,” Rapp pointed to as her source of inspiration. “She holds the school 400 record and the 4×4, so she is someone I look up to. She is always pointing things out for me, trying to help me get better.”

Rapp took first place in both the girls 100- and 200-meter dash while finishing second in the long jump and third as a member of the Clippers 4×100 meter relay. That means she will advance to the regional in all four events (the top four in each event qualified). What might be even more amazing than her incredible performances was the fact that she just started participating in the long jump two weeks ago.

“She came to me a couple of weeks ago and asked if she could long jump,” Clippers jump coach Diana Richardson said. “I said, ‘Come out to practice and we can see what we can do.’ She came out and was hitting 13 to 15 feet right off the bat. She’ll be a senior next year, so I expect to see her at state next year. I can see her at 17-18 next year in all honesty, the way her steps are and the way her speed is. She just needs to hit and kick a bit more.”

Correspondent photo / Lowell Spencer Julia Rapp of Columbiana competes in the long jump.

Richardson wasn’t the only one caught off guard by Rapp’s immediate success and rapid transition to the event.

“I honestly surprised myself,” Rapp said. “My personal best before today’s meet, I was jumping like a 15-2. Today I jumped a 15-4 and then a 15-7 1/2, which is now a new personal best. So I have been just getting better.”

Clippers girls team coach Crystal Boggs said Rapp has a gift for the sport. However, she includes a steady work ethic that has allowed her to develop her skills.

“Julia is a natural talent,” Clippers girls team coach Crystal Boggs said. “She is really good at running and she is dedicated. She is a letterman in softball too, so she has learned to split her time. Her work ethic really shows because everything she does, she is constantly asking what do I need to do, what can I do to go out there and get the job done?”

Not only did her Clipper relay team advance to regionals next week, but in the process, they set a new school mark. Technically, they re-set the school mark.

“They set school record today,” Boggs said. “The third time in a row. Three weeks in a row they have broken it. Today it was 51.22 for their new time.

“She is like her mom,” Boggs said with a chuckle. “She is just so sweet, there is not a bad bone in her body. At practice, it’s hot out and you tell them to do this or that, it’s miserable weather, but they just go out there and work on hand-offs over and over.”

Julia pointed at the 200-meter dash as her favorite event, “It’s not really that fast at first and I like being able to catch up in the end. Especially if I have a bad start.”

HELPING HAND

For Crestview’s Will Hardenbrook, he won the boys high jump at 6-2 and the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.81. He was also on the Rebels second place 4×200 meter relay.

“Originally, he was not in 4×2,” Rebels boys coach Greg Woolman stated. “He was an alternate, but due to some other things we had to put him in there, and I asked him yesterday if he was up to this considering there is going to be a lot of stuff thrown at you really quick, and he was fine with it. He is a competitor. And he is a kid that is very easy to coach because he will do whatever you ask him to do.”

Hardenbrook is just taking it all in stride.

“I’m just glad to be able to keep making a name for myself. I want to keep striving to do better and win two championships up at regionals,” Hardenbrook said.

“I try to show up on time, and I’m always the last one to leave the track. I put a lot of work in at the work-out center, and I’m always striving to get myself better and do better than my opponents,” Hardenbrook added.

Woolman said it’s a joy to have a kid with so much determination on the team.

“High jump is the one event that just comes naturally to him,” Woolman said. “He practices it a lot, he watches film, he breaks down stuff. He really gets into it. For a high school kid like that, and that committed, that is special and they don’t come around very often.”

Winning and competing at the highest level runs in the Hardenbrook family.

“Both of my older brothers were great athletes and they never stopped,” Hardenbrook said. “They tried to be the best, and now I try to be better than them every day.”

Hardenbrook, who was a standout tight end on the Rebels football team, uses his long 6-3 frame to his advantage in both events that he won.

“In the hurdles and the high jump, that really helps a lot to be taller and a little bit more flexible and stronger than everybody else,” he said.

“The 110-meter hurdles is the one event that he has just wanted to win state in more than anything,” Woolman said. “And he didn’t start running that event until 2019, the last track season we had. And even then he didn’t run it until districts. He just fell in love with it. Two of the hardest technical events in track, at least the track part, and he attacks those and wants to get better every time.”

SPRINGFIELD HAS A BIG NIGHT

The Springfield track team enjoyed having the Division III District event on their home track. Beau Brungard took home the boy’s 300-meter hurdles while the 4×200 relay team of Dante Argiro, Clayton Nezbeth, Brungard and Autin Tindell also won their event.

The girl’s team also captured the 4×200 relay with Ava Vecchione, Bella Brown, Kylee Kosek, and Graciella Ebert. They also won the 4×100 relay with Brown, Vecchione, Ebert and Mary Grace Mason. Haleigh McCalla won the girls discus with a throw of 108-08.

ROCKETS SOPHIA YON DOMINATES IN DISTANCE RUNS

The Lowellville Rockets freshman runner Sophia Yon enjoyed a big night as she won two events at the district meet. She captured the 1600- and the 3200-meter runs.