'I'm going to Dunkin Donuts.' South Bend Washington's Swanson is state hurdles champion
South Bend Washington junior Adriana Swanson won a state title in the 100-meter hurdles Saturday to join her father, Adrian, as a state champion.
Adriana Swanson proved to be prophetic on Saturday.
She also proved to be a state champion.
The South Bend Washington junior track star hurdled her way to a state title at the IHSAA state finals at North Central High School in Indianapolis on June 7.
Swanson clocked in at a personal best time of 13.83 to win the 100-meter high hurdles title.
Swanson, the Northern Indiana Conference MVP and the top seed in her specialty entering the state finals, had predicted earlier in the week that she "felt a PR coming" at the state meet.
She proved to be as good as gold in prediction and performance too.
"I don't know if it's hit me yet," said Adriana in a phone interview Saturday night. "I'm just so grateful. I'm emotional. It's amazing. I just feel really blessed.
"It feels great. I worked tirelessly for this, and it was so worth it. I just went out there today and gave it my all."
Swanson was seeded first with a time of 13.97. She ran a 14.05 in the prelims on Saturday to finish with the top time. She then topped runner-up Jai Brown of Pike, who finished second in a time of 14.01, for the state title. Brown was also second in the prelims with a time of 14.18.
"I just trusted God," said Adriana. "I went out there and told myself that I just had to go and run my hardest. When I did not see her (runner-up Brown) in my peripheral, I knew I had it."
Swanson joins her father as state champions. Adrian Swanson, who is her coach at Washington too, won a state title in the hurdles for South Bend Adams in 1997.
"This feels better than when I was a state champion," remarked Adrian Saturday night by phone. "To have a daughter achieve this is so special. I'm so proud of her. I know how hard she has worked for this. I'm so excited that I'm still shaking. It was very nerve racking for me. I think that I was more nervous than she was. I couldn't even video tape the race or take photos.
"She was so hungry for us. She told me over and over that she wanted to be number one. She proved it through her training. She was laser focused. I knew she could do it. She said we are state champs Daddy and that had me shed some tears."
Swanson had not lost a 100-meter hurdles race in high school until the State Finals a year ago. The then sophomore placed 10th in the prelims in a time of 15.07, failing to make the finals by just one place. She also failed to advance from the prelims of the 300 hurdles at State in 2024.
"It means a lot to share this with my dad," said Adriana. "This was for both of us. He's helped me so much to be able to do this."
Adriana also picked up an eighth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles race Saturday, following her title performance in the 100, in a time of 44.05.
The younger Swanson knew how she planned to celebrate her amazing achievement too.
"I'm going to Dunkin Donuts and get some donuts," said Adriana. "I've been eating healthy, but I'm going to celebrate with donuts. Preferably the strawberry ones with the sprinkles on them."
Fitting enough for a champion.
Other area stars shine too
Swanson was the star, but other area athletes turned in strong performances too Saturday.
Kristina Petkova of Goshen placed third in the 400 with a time of 55.87. Emma Kincaid of Bremen was 10th in the race in 58.24 and Hanna Clyde of NorthWood 14th in 58.97.
South Bend Adams freshman star Jaidyn Kimbrough was fourth in the 200 in a time of 24.59.
Penn standout Sofia Ugwoke finished sixth in the 100 in a time of 12.08. Shreya Nayee of Penn was 18th in the 1,600 in 5:08.72 with Vivy Miller of Plymouth 24th in 5:14.34.
The Penn 3,200 relay team was 11th in 9:17.87 with the Northridge team 25th in 9:55.09. The Penn 400 relay team was 15th in 48.68 with NorthWood 17th in 48.79 and South Bend Riley 21st in 49.27.
Dakotah Moore of Northridge was eighth in the 3,200 in 10:36.55. Lila Van Hoveln of Penn was 14th in 10:50.31 in the race.
The shot put saw Brooklyn King of Jimtown place fifth with a throw of 41-00.25. Samara Rouser of Adams was 12th with a throw of 39-07.75 with Elkhart's Brynlee Jellison 14th with a toss of 39-05.25.
Lydia Goodsell of John Glenn was eighth in the long jump with a leap of 18-01.50. Tinayja Summers of Mishawaka was 10th with a 17-10.75 and Kamerin Malone of Penn 23rd with a 16-08.25.
Oliva Stoffel of Northridge placed 22nd in the discus with a toss of 116-05. NorthWood senior three-sport star Claire Payne was 17th in the high jump with a leap of 5-2.
The Bremen 1,600 relay team was ninth in a time of 3:56.70 with the Penn squad 19th in 4:02.68.
Carmel won the state team championship with 54 points. Hamilton Southeastern was second with 46 points with Bloomington South third with 34.
Complete state finals results can be found at ihsaa.org.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Swanson's state title leads South Bend area at IHSAA girls track state
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