Hill Sets Record At AAU Club Nationals

The best advice Lake Highland's Deanna Hill has ever been given was to not worry about what other girls were doing in their lanes, but to focus on her race, and success will come. The soon-to-be sophomore has carried that mantra onto the track and become more serious about the sport by training year round.

"It was very important for me to run year round because I have had more time to work on everything I needed to and it has help me become a stronger runner then when I was running a few month a year. We really had to focus on my start  such as a lot of block work, pushing out of the blocks, holding my drive phase, and really trying to make the first 30-40 meters of my race better.  I knew I could do well in track, but I never thought I'd be doing as well as I've been doing lately."

Lately, Hill has been tearing up the track. Following a successful run at the 2A state championships where she finished 5th in the 100 (12.83) and second in the 200 (24.37), the sophomore-to-be hit the postseason circuit in full stride.  She put up personal best times at the Golden South Classic in those events less than a month later.She attributes the drop in times to working on her start and form at the start of races. One of Hill's favorite workouts emphasizes that technique, f lying 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's. The purpose of these are to get a good push out of the blocks, getting a great start, and a solid drive phase the first 30 meters. Those workouts helped propel Hill to set some new PR's and win an AAU Club Championship.

"AAU Nationals was an amazing experience for me. I went out there hoping to win and going out there and breaking the 200 meter dash record  was just better than I thought it would be. I am blessed that I was able to have that moment of confidence that when I stepped on the track for the 200 finals that I have the ability to win such a huge meet."

Her times of 11.80 and 23.83 were personal bests, but her time in the 200 was also a new meet record. The feat of winning a national championship was even more rewarding since Hill was able to do it in virtually her backyard, Orlando. She says the title of champion hasn't hit her yet, but when it does she will ride that momentum into her sophomore year.

"It hasn't sunk in fully, but when I think about it I went out there and gave it my all and came out with an amazing win. This really has boosted up my confidence going into my sophomore season because now I know what I am capable of. Even with all the competition I know to just go out there and give it my all."

The Lake Highland star will continue her postseason tour with a stop in the "Big Easy", New Orleans, Louisiana, for the AAU Junior Olympics. Hill knows the competition will be anything but easy as the nation's best will be at the top of their game.  This will be the final meet of the year for her and then she says she plans on taking a one or two month break before lifting and doing distance work to prepare for next season. She says there is one goal in particular on her mind.

"Next year I hope to continue to improve and drop my times in the process, but I would really like to see a first place medal at states."

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