Some days, the motivation to work out and practice is very high for Hannah Angel. Other days, not so much.
“Right now I’d much rather be at home eating,” she said, laughing.
Don’t let the comment fool you. It came while Angel was in the midst of taking a breather while training, in between working on high jump and hurdles. The Franklin junior is undoubtedly one of the most motivated athletes on the track team, and broke her own school record in the 100-meter hurdles in March.
Maury Burstein coaches hurdles for the Panthers. While the NCHSAA has prohibited games and practices from March 14 until at least May 18, Burstein still texts Angel every day with a hurdles workout.
“And she goes out there. She’s not siting around the TV, she’s out training,” Burstein said.
“She has such tenacity. I give a lot credit to her family and the way this kid’s been brought up. She’s been brought up the right way, by her mom, dad, aunt, grandparents. They’re huge supporters of her.”
Angel, who is the daughter of Jeremy and Jennifer Angel, is typically quick to offer tips or advice to others during practice, something she loves doing. However, she’s discovered working out solo isn’t so bad either, particularly because it allows her to recover at her own pace.
“It’s weird not having the support of everyone and not being able to cheer everyone on,” she said, “but it’s nice having the track to yourself.”
Fellow classmate Dylan Garcia, who also broke a school record this spring, said it’s great competing alongside an athlete of Angel’s caliber.
“I really wish we were in the same field of events,” Garcia said, “because imagine the competition and the speed we would have. Being close with Hannah in this sport has really pushed me, too. Having the support system we have with each other is one of a kind.”
Angel’s motivation to work out ultimately comes from a desire to earn an athletic scholarship. And to reach that reward, she reminds herself that she’s competing against other athletes who are also working on getting better. It stokes her competitive fire and boosts her motivation.
“There’s always people working,” Angel said. “It helps knowing each thing I do is gonna pay off in the end. I think about a workout, ‘Oh, it’s gonna be hard.’ But pain is temporary. You have to put yourself in the mindset, but then once you get done working out, ‘Oh, I want to do more.’ Or, ‘I should have ran one more.’ So it really just depends on the day.
“As athletes, a lot of us understand what it takes to be the best we can be.”
Strong start
Angel broke the school record for 100-meter hurdles a year ago. Ashley Fletcher’s time of 15.86 had stood until 1994, until Angel threw down a 15.33 at a meet at T.C. Roberson.
While she didn’t beat that time the rest of her sophomore campaign, she ran a 16.3 at the 2-A West Regional to win by 1.33 seconds. A week later, she placed seventh in the event at the state championship.
Angel opted not to play volleyball in the fall, instead devoting her time toward training. She competed in indoor track during the winter, where she focused on improving her start.
“That really lines out your whole race,” she said. “It’s really about remembering to stay strong and not over-stride, but not under-stride. It sets you up for everything.”
The extra training paid dividends March 4 at Owen, the first meet of the outdoor season. Angel set a blistering time of 14.7.
Angel called the record unexpected. She was hoping to get close to her record time, and possibly a little under it. But when she heard she had broken it by more than a half second, she was shocked.
“What? No way!” Angel said.
“The last three hurdles actually were awful, so I thought my time was bad. But coming out strong paid off.”
Striving for goals
Angel also competes in the 300 hurdles and high jump. She finished fifth at state in the high jump and eighth in the longer hurdles (plus a ninth-place finish with the 4x400 relay team).
Her PR in high jump is 5-4, which is two inches shy of Kennedy Conner’s record. But she’s sort of plateaued in the event and isn’t quite sure why.
She had a really good freshman year for high jump, then grew 2-3 inches before her sophomore year.
Angel is 5-6 or 5-7. While she’s likely finished growing, she joked how she’d love to get to 5-10.
Somehow, growing a few inches since freshman year hasn’t translated into higher jumps.
“I’m trying to figure out exactly what’s wrong,” she said. “I’ve gone to a few camps and worked on certain parts of my form. I feel like I understand the event better than I ever have before – like I get the concepts better. But it’s just really hard to apply it all.”
Getting the 300 hurdles record has been a big goal for her since freshman year. Rikki Jay owns the record of 44.47, set at the 2011 3-A Championships.
Angel’s best time came at last year’s state meet, when she finished in 48.48.
The hardest race in track is 300 hurdles, Angel said, even over the 400. It’s easy to mess up your steps between hurdles, thus losing precious time.
Even though she’s four seconds from the record, she feels like it’s attainable.
“But it’s gonna take a lot of focus and training my body to get the steps correctly,” she said, “and know mentally how strong I need to run between each hurdle in order for my steps to match up.”
While it would be a bummer if the season doesn’t resume this spring, Angel knows she still has her senior year to compete, break records and showcase her skills for college coaches.
Burstein has no doubts she’ll be a Division I athlete. Because of her versatility, he foresees her competing in the heptathlon (a combination of seven events).
“Her goal is to get into a good DI college,” Burstein said, “and she’ll do what it takes to get there.”