Woodridge senior Anna Rorrer runs toward goal of OHSAA track and field state titles
Woodridge High School hurdler Anna Rorrer is in the running to end her senior season as a track and field state champion in Columbus this weekend.
Rorrer is entered in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles and the 1,600 relay at the Division II state meet Friday and Saturday at Ohio State University’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Rorrer has won quite a bit in May with multiple victories apiece in the Woodridge Wrap-Up, the Metro Athletic Conference championship meet and district and regional meets.
Rorrer set two Woodridge school records on May 27 in the regional championship meet at Austintown Fitch, placing first in the 100 hurdles in 14.99 seconds and first in the 1,600 relay in 3:57.82 along with sophomore Marissa Boone, junior Eloise Willett and junior Reese Reaman. Rorrer also won the 300 hurdles regional title in 44.91 seconds.
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“She has an expectation of success and she works very hard,” Woodridge coach Jeff Howard said of Rorrer, who has a 4.3 GPA and plans to run at Duquesne University and major in physical therapy. “She has had a couple little dings this year. It is great to see her run fast and be healthy. She is a great kid. She smiles, she works hard, she is a great leader and going to Duquesne to hurdle next year."
Rorrer is a Division II state meet veteran. She placed fourth in the 300 hurdles and was a state qualifier in the 100 hurdles as a sophomore. She concluded her junior year second in the 300 hurdles and sixth in the 100 hurdles.
“She is a super kid and a great student," Howard said. "... I think she will do really well in the Atlantic 10. I am excited to see what happens for her down the road."
In addition to the school records in the 100 hurdles and 1,600 relay, Rorrer also set a school record in the 300 hurdles with a time of 44.03 seconds on May 11 in the MAC championship meet at Woodridge.
Howard said Rorrer is undefeated in 100 hurdles races this season.
During the past five weeks, she finished first in both hurdle events in the Nikki Reynolds Invitational at Wooster (15.43 and 46.39), the Woodridge Wrap-Up (15.61 and 45.17), the MAC championship at Woodridge (15.30 and 44.03), the district meet at Cortland Lakeview (15.07 and 44.80) and the regional meet at Austintown Fitch (14.99 and 44.91).
Rorrer's efforts the past two weeks helped Woodridge win district and regional team titles.
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Anna Rorrer is a multi-sport athlete at Woodridge
Rorrer saw firsthand what a state champion looks like in 2021 and 2022 while running against hurdler DaMya Barker, a 2022 Buchtel graduate who won multiple Division II state titles as a junior and senior.
“She was so nice to me, always,” Rorrer said of Barker, who runs at Bowling Green. “I love her. She is great. I always knew I had someone to chase, so that was kind of nice. It was good to run against her. I thought it was really fun.”
Rorrer started competing in track and field as a seventh grader at Woodridge Middle School. She competed in soccer, basketball and cross country as a child and then focused on soccer, basketball and track and field in high school.
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"My mom was a big-time hurdler at Stow and I was like, 'I gotta be better than her,'" Rorrer said with a smile.
Her mother, Laura Rorrer, competed under her maiden name, Thompson, and graduated from Stow in 1995.
“Laura had the school record at Stow until [Melanie] Winters broke it,” Howard said. “She is our middle school head coach and she teaches with me at our middle school. … I have watched Anna grow up. Her parents, Laura and Jason, are very nice people. I was at their wedding. I remember when Anna was born. They are a real nice family and very supportive.”
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Woodridge senior Anna Rorrer runs toward OHSAA hurdle state titles
