JESSIEVILLE -- A year ago, a Jessieville freshman was making noise on the track after having won her first state cross country title by nearly 20 seconds.
After winning her second cross country title in November -- this time by nearly 40 seconds -- Juliah Rodgers made sure that she was recognized on the track as well, making up for lost time as she dominated the long distance runs in track meets and winning the Class 3A state title in the 800-, 1600- and 3200-meter runs before winning the 1600-meter run at the Meet of Champions and finishing third in the 3200-meter run.
A distance runner that is continually showing her capabilities on the track, Rodgers is The Sentinel-Record's 2021 All-Garland County Co-Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Rodgers credits her teammates and girls track coach Magen Scrivner for helping to push her during practice.
"I just I just don't think; I just run," she said. "And I guess the boys on our track team have really helped me out a lot because they really pushed me, and coach Scrivner does a lot. She has this one certain workout that she does that I hate where she makes me run in front of the boys, and they have to try to catch me. And one time they caught me and we had to do a bunch of burpees. And they went down there with me to do it because they felt bad, I guess. And they're really good teammates, but they push me a lot. And I just don't really think when I run, I just go out there."
Rodgers said that her dad helped to get her interested in running. She said that her family often talks about her running her first mile at the age of 2 on the track at Lakeside.
"He was like, really, really fast, but they didn't have track, and I get it from him," she said. "And he really, really trains me hard when I don't have practices or even before practice, like in the mornings."
Rodgers said that he helped to push her to run early on.
"I was actually forced into running," she said with a laugh. "It was like a rule in our house. Like, you can't be lazy. You're either doing track or like cross country, and so I decided that I liked track. So I was like, 'I'll try and cross country.'"
When she first tried out for track, Rodgers said that she was wanting to run as a sprinter, but Scrivner nipped that in the bud.
"We got her like, in the seventh grade, and we just started practice, and I just saw that just something was different -- just the way that she ran and just the way that she looked when she ran," Scrivner recalled. "And I was like, 'Gosh,' and I did. I told her, like, 'You're not going with a sprinter group. You know, you're going with a distance group.' But she just has something, you know, obviously, she has a gift, but she, she just, she's different because, you know, when we practice, she's there everyday ready. I never have to tell her to stretch. She wants to be pushed."
Scrivner said that mentality has helped to get her to the level she has achieved.
"They don't want that always, but she does," she said. "That's her expectation every day, and she knows that, you know, she's going to be pushed, but she wants that, even like on track days. ... I think she expects everyday for me to push her. There's days where I've pushed her, and she's cried. She's laid out on the track crying. You know, she has a nickname. Everyone here calls her 'Champ,' and I tell her, you know, during those days, I'm like, 'You know, you've earned that title as a champ. You've got to train like a champion.'"
Rodgers said that when she is running, she can let go of everything and relax.
"When you're out there, you feel nothing, and your mind just goes blank to me," she explained. "And when you get up to the line and you have butterflies and you think you're about to pee yourself, but then you're like, 'Oh, nevermind, it's just my adrenaline kicking in now.'"
Rodgers said that she would love to run at the NCAA Division I level after graduating, and Scrivner said that she thinks the sophomore can go far.
"I see Julia running at a high level, obviously the collegiate level," Scrivner said of what she anticipates Rodgers to do in three to five years. "And I think Julia has the potential to do big things at the collegiate level. I see her winning championships at the collegiate level, just like she does in high school. And I mean, I see her being a leader at the collegiate level. I see people looking up to Julia at the collegiate level. And I mean, the sky's the limit for her. She continues to work and train and stay humble like she is already. She's going to do big things at that level."
Rodgers is the daughter of Chris and Destiny Rodgers, and she has two brothers, Kaden and Tristen, and two sisters, Addyson Vassaur and Azlen Rodgers.
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Girls Track and Field
Olivia Pielemeier, sophomore, Lake Hamilton, All-Conference 4x800-meter relay, 4x400-meter relay, 800-meter, 1600-meter and 3200-meter, All-State in 4x800-meter relay, 800-meter and 1600-meter, anchor of Class 5A state champion 4x800-meter relay team, Class 5A state champion in 1600-meter and 800-meter, school record holder in 1600-meter
Juliah Rodgers, sophomore, Jessieville, All-Conference in 800-meter, 1600-meter and 3200-meter, Class 3A state champion in 800-meter, 1600-meter and 3200-meter, Meet of Champions winner in 1600-meter (5:16.94), Meet of Champions third place in 3200-meter (11:43.37), school record holder in 1600-meter and 3200-meter
Justice Cole, sophomore, Jessieville, All-Conference in pole vault, long jump, triple jump, 100-meter hurdles and 100-meter dash, competed in six events at Class 3A state meet (pole vault, long jump, triple jump, 100-meter hurdles, 100-meter dash and 4x100-meter relay), competed in state heptathlon
Mahayla Swayze, senior, Lake Hamilton, All-Conference pole vault, finished sixth in Class 5A (10-4)
Janaishia Smith, senior, Lakeside, 5A-South Conference meet fourth place in 100-meter dash, 5A-South Conference meet fourth place in 200-meter dash, 5A-South Conference meet third place 4x100-meter relay (anchor), school record holder in 100-meter dash (12.84 seconds)
Brooke Wyatt, senior, Fountain Lake, 4A-7 Conference champion in 800-meter and 1600-meter, Class 4A state meet fifth place in 800-meter, Class 4A state meet sixth place in 1600-meter