Senior Shriya Velichala has been running track since freshman year, but has quickly stepped up to be one of the fastest runners and hurdlers in California’s Division I Track & Field. After her initial introduction to running and athletics as a soccer player, Velichala’s passion for running grew. Over the course of four years, her drive for running has only expanded—even adding the 300m hurdles as an event her last year.  

As a member of the Girls Varsity Track & Field team, Velichala runs the 400m, 300m hurdles, 4x400m relay, and occasionally, may participate in the 100m and 200m—scoring significant marks in all five events. According to Velichala, her favorite event is the 4×400 relay. 

“Track can feel like such an individual sport sometimes, so I really enjoy the relays because of the team aspect,” said Velichala.

Her newest and most significant event has now become the 300m hurdles, which she started in the beginning of this year. Not only has she finished 1st place consecutively between league meets, but also finished 1st overall at CIF preliminaries. One of her biggest accomplishments, according to Velichala, was breaking the school record for the first time. 

Coming in at 44.81 seconds, Velichala couldn’t contain her excitement, expressing that she couldn’t “believe what had happened, considering having run the 400m an hour before.”

Velichala ran in CIF finals on May 21, placing 5th out of nine with a time of 44.96 seconds. 

“I was nervous this entire week because of my small week-long injuries (tendonitis and a sprained ankle), but I did the best I could. Now, having made state, I’ll focus on that for this week,” she stated. “I decided to try running hurdles the summer before senior year started. My club and school coaches encouraged me to try it out because of the stamina they knew I had from running the 400m. I trained a lot during the summer and during preseason. I started enjoying how technical the event was and gained a lot of respect for it.” 

Despite her lengthy accomplishments, Velichala has had one continuous goal since the beginning of her running career. 

“While breaking my personal records is important, something that I put more effort into is making sure I give it my all in every race. I want to make sure that I’m doing my best in practices and races, even though I may not be feeling the best,” she stated. 

With her high school track season slowly coming to a close with the end of the school year, Velichala remains ecstatic for the future. Having committed to Claremont McKenna College for Track & Field, Velichala will prepare for the 400m hurdles. 

“I’m very ecstatic and grateful for the opportunity to continue running in college. I am also excited to start learning how to do the 400m hurdles because it’s a longer race than what we run in high school. I know it’s going to be challenging but I’m looking forward to seeing what the next four years have in store for me,” said Velichala.   

Thank you, Shriya, for sharing your hurdling experience, and best of luck to the next four years at Claremont McKenna College!  

Photo courtesy of KYLIE HA