BURLINGTON — Chonner Ludolph is one of the best athletes the area has to offer, but unfortunately for the Southern Coffey County junior, he also has had to deal with more than his fair share of injuries during his high school career.
As Ludolph’s sophomore year of football was coming to a close the all-state receiver took a nasty hit and injured his back.
Ludolph sat out football this season in an effort to protect his back, but late during the basketball season — another sport where Ludolph is an all-state performer — Ludolph took another hard fall and injured his back once again.
A stress fracture was located in his back and Ludolph was told he couldn’t do any jumping events during the track and field season for fear of another injury and doctors were hesitant to allow last season’s fourth-place finisher in the state 110-meter hurdles to do his signature event, but eventually opted to let Ludolph do the hurdles.
“He works so hard,” Titan coach Jeff True said. “He works hard every day and is a really good kid.”
Now limited to just the hurdles and other running events, Ludolph is placing even more emphasis on those events and is looking to improve at the state level in both the 110-meters hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles – where he also qualified last season.
“That is the No. 1 goal,” Ludolph said. “I want to win (state in the 110-meter hurdles).”
In Thursday’s Southern Coffey County Invitational in Burlington, Ludolph showed some of his top competition in 1A that it would be unwise to overlook him when it becomes time for state to roll around.
“I am really proud of where I am at now,” Ludolph said. “I’ve had a couple tough races in the 300 hurdles, but I’m really happy with where I’m at in the high hurdles.”
Ludolph won the 110-meter hurdles in dominating fashion with a 15.55 — a personal-best — as he cruised into the finish line over two seconds in front of the runner up.
“It is really difficult, because I am just racing against time and I don’t have people pushing me to get stronger,” Ludolph said. “Coach actually told me that since I don’t get that push, I have to race angry. I have to race like I’m angry every time, like I’m mad at what is out there or in front of me, just run angry.”
Ludolph admits that he is still getting settled into the 300-meter hurdles this season, but was still able to finish with a 44.27 to take third place.
Without his jumping events that allows True to use Ludolph in relays this season, a luxury that was previously unavailable to the coach.
Ludolph ran on the Titans 4×400 relay team which finished fifth with a 3:55.
While the Titans are grateful to have Ludolph available to them this season, they are also excited to have freshman Cooper Harred in the fold this season.
Harred won the shot put on Thursday with a 42’6” and took fourth in the discus with a 111’5.5”.
Junior Dawson Leimkuhler took second in the shot put with a 39’7” and finished fourth in the 100-meter dash with a 11.96.
There were Titans littered up and down the leaderboards of the throwing events with Kogan Ohl also placing in both the shot put and javelin.
He took third in the javelin with a 136’10” and sixth in the shot put with a 36’4”.
Jett Harvey was fourth in the javelin with a 131’0”.
Derek Ratzlaff rounded out the individual scorers for the Titans with a fourth-place finish in the 3,200-meter run with a 12:07.68.
The Titans finished fourth with 62 points as a team.
GIRLS
Titan junior Erikah Lyons continued her superb start to the season with an easy win in the javelin on Thursday.
Lyons threw over 14 feet further than the next closest competitor and won the event with a 116’7”.
“I am ahead of where I was last year,” the returning state qualifier said. “I think I am doing O.K,”
The top individual point-getter for the Titans was junior Adina Ratzlaff, who finished second in both the 100-meter dash and the 400-meter dash.
Ratzlaff ran a 13.65 in the 100 and a 1:06.27 in the 400.
Sophomore Haven Harvey was sixth in the 400 meters with a 1:14.59 to win her heat.
Sophomore Braelyn Falls was fifth in the 100 meters with a 13.99.
The Titans also picked up a pair of second-place finishes in the relays.
SCC ran a 4:42.36 in the 4×400 and a 56.05 in the 4×100.
“We have been able to make up some time in the relays because our handoffs have been so good,” True said. “We don’t have the four fastest girls on the track in a lot of races, but they run a good race and try hard.”
The spots alongside Ratzlaff and Lyons have been shifting this season, but they seemed to click with Falls and Jordyn Stone on Thursday.
“We keep changing up the team members for the relays, but I think we may have found it today,” Lyons said. “Things have changed a little bit from last year, but I think we have figured it out.”
The Titans finished fourth as a team with 49 points.
