Girls Runner of the Week – 2/22

Winner: Maddie Hobbs

School: Pickerington Lakeview

Highlight: The 7th grader—yes, 7th grader—from Pickerington Lakeview raced to a 6th-place finish against some of Ohio’s top high school talent. Her time of 2:20.0 would rank her 19th in the state (all divisions) and would qualify her for the state championships in any division.

While our coverage is mainly focused on Division 1 Central Ohio high school competition, it was impossible to ignore Maddie Hobbs’ 2:20.0 800m. Not only did she earn a spot as one of our four candidates for Runner of the Week, but she also won your vote as this week's Girls Indoor Runner of the Week. This might come as a surprise to many, but to those closest to Maddie, it was anything but.

“She doesn’t back down from a challenge. And she is very coachable; she really takes in what you tell her,” said Chase Schneider, who coaches at Maddie’s future high school, Pickerington North, but still currently plays a role in her training. There’s no doubt Coach Schneider is eager to have Maddie as part of the team, as she is easily one of—if not the—top runners in her class in Ohio.

Maddie’s current coach, Kristen Wallace, had this to say: “Despite this being her first year running indoor track for Lakeview, Maddie has excelled not only against her peers but against high school competition as well.” Along with her impressive 800m time of 2:20, she has also posted marks of 12:21 in the 2-mile for XC and 5:24 for the 1600m. Coach Wallace has done an incredible job developing Maddie, but there’s one slight downside to Maddie’s success—she’s well on her way to breaking all of Lakeview’s school records (800m and up), which just so happen to be held by Coach Wallace herself. This unique dynamic has led to some fun banter between the two.

Maddie has hit the indoor national qualifying standard in both the 800m and 1600m, and we look forward to seeing how she fares on the national stage if she elects to compete.