Track: Swackhammer finally healthy, aiming for state

ZANESVILLE – Samantha Swackhammer has fought enough injuries that a rehab facility could be named in her honor.

She has rarely had time to rest in successful soccer, basketball and track careers at Rosecrans, earning three letters in each.

But the physical strain took its toll. A severe ankle injury cost her more than half of the basketball season and some April track meets.

A state final basketball run led to a track injury that shortened her 2014 season — a major factor in her barely missing the Division III state meet.

The Division III regional starts Wednesday, with preliminaries and finals in the 4x800 relays and select finals in field events. All other finals are set for Friday.

The top four finishers in each event reach the state.

“I can’t rush into things,” Swackhammer said when asked what she has learned from her recoveries. “I have to trust my body and know it will be ready when the time comes and also trust in my own abilities, and not necessarily focus on the competition so much as what I can control.”

Swackhammer is top-seeded in the 100 hurdles at :15.94, almost :00.2 faster than Fairbanks’ Gabby Burchett, her closest competition. Burchett (:46.03) is top-seeded in the tightly packed 300 field, but Swackhammer (:46.44) isn’t far behind.

“She is definitely ahead of schedule from last year,” Rosecrans coach Michael Bullock said. “Being healthy makes a big difference.”

She missed all of April because of injuries in 2014, leaving her just three weeks to prepare for the postseason. The result was missing the state after qualifying in four events as a freshman.

She learned a lesson about coming back too fast, but the trust factor was another matter.

“Coming back, it’s hard not to be scared doing what you’re doing,” Swackhammer said. “Being the hurdles, with the ankle it’s hard on it. And trusting myself that I was ready to come back and I could do what I knew how to do, coming back I was afraid I wouldn’t improve and my strength would be gone, but I had to trust in my abilities and trust (Bullock) would have me ready for the (postseason).”

She admitted improving her self-confidence has been a work in progress.

“It takes a lot of toll in races like these when you’re by yourself and you have to tell yourself, without someone telling you the whole time, what to do,” Swackhammer said. “You have to know it.”

Bullock has seen the growth.

“It’s one thing to be confident in our area, with what is familiar, but it’s being able to take that and translate that confidence to a larger scale,” Bullock said. “I’ve been doing this over 20 years, and I’ve been fortunate enough to get to that level numerous times, so I know mentally what it takes to get there. That’s the biggest thing we’ve been working with her on. The technique is there. The desire is there. Now it’s just recognizing that you deserve to be there.”

sblackburn@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

740-450-6723

Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR