Senior Courtnie Allen remembered watching her older sister Jordan competing in the hurdles and thinking how cool it would be to do the same.

"It just looked fun to jump over things," she said.

But Allen said she had such horrible technique – she tossed her arms while running and didn't know how to jump – that middle school coaches initially wouldn't allow her to compete.

"After they put me in, they never took me out again," Allen said.

Allen broke the school record in her first race in the seventh grade. She went on to establish records in high school but fell short of qualifying for the state meet.

As a freshman, she went to state on the 4x400 relay team. Now, three years later, she returns after finishing second in the 300 hurdles at regionals with a career-best 42.73.

Allen credits first-year girls coach Aaron Ward and boys coach Doug Robinson for improving her technique, which she says has been her weakness since she began competing in the event.

Gabriel Cabarrouy