At home on the track, Wilson’s Violet Houck captures 2 hurdling golds at Firing Meet

By Julie Pelchar Cohen — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent

Wilson coaches enjoyed their hurdler’s swift times meet after meet last season.

But they always wondered how much faster she could be.

The Bulldogs had limited time to instruct their budding star.

That’s because Violet Houck juggled two sports last spring, bouncing between track practice and the lacrosse field.

“She  would do a little bit with us and then head over to lacrosse,” said Bulldogs coach Joe Watterson. “Or she would start at lacrosse and then head over to us at the end of our practice. She wasn’t ever able to get a full workout.”

After a season of splitting afternoons between two places, Houck has found her home.

She showed Saturday that dropping lacrosse to focus on track is serving her well.

Houck dominated both hurdles races and ran a blazing anchor leg on Wilson’s victorious 1600 relay to shine during the BCIAA Firing Meet at Shillington.

Houck was one of four double winners on the girls side. Muhlenberg’s Nadly Gyapong proved she’s Berks County’s sprints queen with her wins in the 100 and 200. Exeter’s Gabby Keith grabbed the 800 and 1600 titles. Twin Valley freshman Addie Nudy added a high jump win to the triple jump gold she captured on Thursday’s opening day.

In between lacrosse practices and games, Houck produced a standout freshman track season that included a 300 hurdles gold and 100 hurdles silver at last year’s Firing Meet. She took District 3 Class 3A bronze in the longer race to qualify for the PIAA championships, where she was one of only three freshmen in the event.

Her high school track debut prompted a relatively easy decision.

“I decided after last track season to drop lacrosse,” Houck said. “I knew I wanted to run track in college and figured it was probably my best bet to  focus on running so it would be a smoother road to getting to compete in college.”

Houck spent the fall training for track. After playing basketball, she laced her spikes fully committed.

Her times are certainly telling that story. Houck broke the 15-second barrier during last weekend’s Shaner Meet 100 hurdles final for a school record.

She lowered that mark with Saturday’s 14.78.

While she had struggled to run a clean 300 hurdles race this spring, she executed Saturday with a personal-best 44.57, less than a tenth of a second shy of another school record and nearly a second faster than last year.

A mid-race adjustment during Saturday’s longer race is an example of how full-time training has benefited Houck.

She’s been struggling with the third hurdle – so badly that she came to a standstill during last week’s Henderson Invitational because her steps were off.

A week of practice helped her adjust. When she stuttered at the same hurdle Saturday, Houck eliminated the pause and switched to her opposite leg as instructed before cruising to gold.

“Last year was pure athleticism,” Watterson said. “We could only pick and choose to work on certain things. This year we can work on everything. It makes a huge difference.”

Houck’s beautiful blend of speed and power was on display one last time during the 1600 relay, when she nearly broke 57 seconds for a monster split.

“I honestly feel great,” she said.

Since Houck has declared the track as her official home, it looks as though two county records could crumble. 

Exeter’s Symone Foster has held the 100 hurdles mark of 14.25 for six years. Gov. Mifflin’s Jenn Comtois set the 300 hurdles record of 43.56 in 1993.

“I miss lacrosse sometimes,” Houck said. “But I’m  glad I dropped it because I don’t think I would be here if I didn’t. My technique is a lot better. My form is a lot better. I’m going to keep building on that and continue getting stronger.”

Regarding the records?

“I’m going to get them senior year,” Houck said.

Maybe sooner.

Houck will likely earn the No. 2 seed in both hurdles races for next weekend’s district meet.

Another sophomore – Spring Grove’s Ella Bahn, the defending champion in both races and the state champ in the 300 hurdles – will hold the top times.

“Now the competition will ratchet up,” Watterson said. “It  seems like when that happens Violet takes that competition and fuels herself with it. She loves to compete.”

Clearly, Houck is also loving her new singular devotion.