By Chris Cox

Locust Grove freshman Hannah Bond admits when she first started competing in track, it was kind of forced onto her to but now she finds track and field to be freeing.

“At first, I did it because my coach made me do it because of basketball,” she says with a chuckle. “But now, it’s freeing, I guess. You’re running around the track and you’re by yourself. Yes, there are other people in the other lanes, but they don’t affect how you run.”

During track meets, Bond typically runs the 400 but she is doing more than just running, he’s also competing in the high jump and throwing the discus. With those three events, Bond is hoping to make an immediate impact on the Locust Grove track and field team.

“At the beginning of the year, I wanted to go to state in high jump but then I got humbled really quickly,” she says. “I quickly realized I was not as good as some of the upperclassmen. I still want to go to state but now in the 400. I think I can get pretty far in that event.”

That humbling experience in the high jump has helped her grow as an athlete in all three of her events.

“I won conference in most of my events last year (in middle school),” she says. “This year, there are a lot more kids at the meets and it’s such a big difference from middle school because it’s bigger competition and that means more people to compete against.”

That humbling experience of going against tougher competition has driven Bond to work even harder, something she tries to do without boasting about her accomplishments.

“A person with good character doesn’t go around tearing other people down and trying to prove they’re better than other people,” she says. “If you are better than someone it’s going to prove itself during a competition. I don’t need to boast or smack talk. I just want to stay humble and let my skills show.”

Outside of track and field, Hannah is also a part of the volleyball and basketball teams at Locust Grove. While she is just a freshman, Bond has been thinking about her life after high school.

“I’ve been looking at athletic training or physical training,” she says. “I feel like that would be a really cool path to take.”