From her siblings to her, senior Modupe Awosanya will keep the track and field line going in her family.
“I ran track because all of my sisters did it,” Awosanya said. “I just wanted to follow their footsteps.”
Awosanya will continue that legacy even after high school as she has committed to run track at IUPUI next year, which is a Division I school.
For SHS, Awosanya runs the 200-meter hurdles, the 4-4 relay and also does the long jump. Her best event is her long jump where she placed third last year in state. This year at the indoor state meet, she jumped 19 feet 1.25 inches, which is less than a foot away from the girls state record of 19 feet 8.22 inches.
“When I was told I was ranked first in the state I was surprised,” Awosanya said. “I don’t know how I did it because we hardly practice long jump.”
According to Awosanya, her coaches, Nathan Fishel and Scott Evans, have played a huge role in the success she is achieving now.
“Modupe is a really good teammate,” Evans said. “She is a leader on the team. She is kind of a quiet person, but she is coming along and doing well being a leader.”
Due to COVID-19, Awosanya did not get to prove herself during her sophomore season, which left her hungrier than ever during her junior year where she placed third at state
“Just listening to my coaches and taking their advice has helped me improve,” Awosanya said.
According to Evans she has practiced a lot harder than most, and she stays after practice to help improve on the areas where she struggles in.
“She is eager to practice,” Evans said. “Track has a lot of individual work they can do on their own and I see her do it. Say we have a fitness day like run laps, a lot of kids are leaving after it, but she will work on her block starts or something like that.”
One of the biggest credits to her success is something that can’t talk. The weight room has played a massive role in Awosanya’s success over the course of her career.
“When you look back at her results as a freshman, then her results from junior and senior year, she has gotten stronger because of the weight room,” Fishel said. “The biggest factor that helped her get better is that she lifts weights.”
Not only does Awosanya work harder than others, but other track runners believe she is a great teammate.
“She is a very fun teammate,” senior Jada Taylor said. “She keeps us together. She has helped me perform, my block starts, and also kept me doing track.”
Awosanya sets goals that are achievable and even reached her goals last year, before the year was even over. According to Awosanya, her goals for this year are mainly to work on technique.
While she is ranked first in the state, she would like to win outdoor state this year and try to improve her times in the 200-meter hurdles as well.