Ohio High School Runner Wins State Title on Her Own: 'I Was So Excited'
Juliette Laracuente-Huebner earned four individual titles that gave her enough points to win the Division 2 and Division 3 team state titles earlier this year
The winner takes it all!
Juliette Laracuente-Huebner, an athlete from Highland High School in Marengo, Ohio, scored a state indoor track and field championship win all by herself after she earned four individual titles that gave her enough points to win the Division 2 and Division 3 team state titles earlier this year, NBC 4 reported.
The teen scored the feat back in March during the Ohio Indoor State Championships held by the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches. There, she won gold medals in the long jump, high jump and triple jump, as well as in the 60-meter hurdle.
"I was so excited, but I tried to keep it calm because I didn't want to boast or anything," Laracuente-Huebner told NBC 4. "And then I went up on the podium for triple jump, came down, and yelled out to my coach — because all the events were done at that point — 'I just won the team title!' "
She added: "He started going crazy. My parents were going crazy. Yeah, it was really sweet."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
"It was crazy being like, going up against teams that have 15 girls there and I was the only one who was representing Highland and it was like, 'Oh well, I just beat them out all by myself,' " the athlete said.
For Laracuente-Huebner, time management played a large role in helping her succeed, she told NBC 4, given that she had to be present at so many track events within a short period of time.
"I was high jumping and long jumping at the same time. Literally, I would have to rip off my high jump spikes, and then I would have to sprint over to long jump and try to take a few jumps, and then come back," she said.
"I almost missed my hurdle race, and then I was triple jumping, I think I did like one or two, and then had to go do the hurdle finals," Laracuente-Huebner continued. "I started about 10:00 [a.m] and I did not leave the track until about 7:30 [p.m.]."
Highland High School girls' track coach Chip Wendt told NBC 4 that Laracuente-Huebner — who will study nursing and continue her track and field career at the University of Cincinnati in the fall —is an athlete unlike one he has ever seen before.
"The most special thing about Juliette is her work ethic," Wendt told the outlet. "In all my years, and I've been here since '85, '86, I've never seen any individual in any sport, at this level work this hard."
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
