Juliette Laracuente-Huebner needed seven pairs of shoes to win the 2023 Indoor State Championship Meet held in Ohio all by herself.
The Highland High School senior won four individual titles out of seven total events -- good for a Division II/III school state title in March.
“So I have two flats, high jump spikes, long jump spikes, triple jump spikes, and then practice sprint spikes and competition sprint spikes," Laracuente-Huebner said. “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.'"
Laracuente-Huebner earned gold medals in the high jump, 60-meter hurdles, triple jump and long jump.
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The way she won the school the state title was far from straightforward. As a matter of fact, she had to overlap various events in order to partake in the next.
“So I was high jumping and long jumping at the same time,” Laracuente-Huebner said. “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. I almost missed my hurdle race!” she said reviewing her day's schedule. “And then I was triple jumping, I think I did like one or two, and then had to go do the hurdle finals. I started about 10 o’clock and I did not leave the track until about 7:30.”
Laracuente-Huebner's coach, Chip Wendt, noted how impressive the athlete's mental toughness was to be able to switch back and forth between events in a short period of time -- sometimes within seconds.
Sports
“The most special thing about Juliette is her work ethic,” Wendt said. “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.”
Laracuente-Huebner's next hurdle is the OHSAA state championships, where she hopes to translate her winning momentum outdoors.
While taking her track and field talents to the professional stage is the ultimate goal, Laracuente-Huebner is first attending the University of Cincinnati, where she hopes to become a heptathlete on the track and a nurse in the classroom.
