Regional Track Preview: Hudson siblings have Oberlin back in business

Oberlin High School has one of Lorain County's longest and greatest track and field traditions. The Phoenix boys teams have produced 18 individual state champions, while the girls have had four state winners. Only Clearview (25 boys, six girls) has produced more champions in the county. Success has been a bit more elusive for Oberlin recently. Prior to last season, the Oberlin boys only qualified one athlete to state since 2005 (Simon Perales in the 1,600 in 2015). The Oberlin girls have had only two state qualifiers (Jillian Doane, 300 hurdles in 2015 and '16; Asta Rustad, 3,200 in 2017) since 2003. Siblings Evan and Olivia Hudson, a junior and a freshman, are working to rekindle Oberlin's terrific tradition. They are the children of former Oberlin coach Jason Hudson (2017), who is the track and cross country coach for Cleveland State University. Evan and Olivia are coming off great performances last week at the Division III district meet at Cuyahoga Heights. Evan was a triple winner and took the 400 meters in a meet-record 48.86 seconds. He also won the 100 (11.13) and the 200 (22.17), plus had a third in long jump (20 feet, 0.25 inch). Olivia won the 400 (1:00.50) at Cuyahoga Heights and was second in the 200 (26.12). She was also a member of the winning 1,600 relay (4:17.20) and second-place 800 relay (1:47.68) The two are gearing up for today's regional at Norwayne. Evan understands what's necessary, having been down the postseason trail as a freshman and a sophomore. He had a great run last year and has been even better this year. He was a state qualifier last year, finishing 12th in the 400 in 51.22. In March he placed fifth in the 400 (49.70) and fifth in the 200 (22.55) at the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches Divisions II-III state indoor meet at SPIRE. He also competed at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in New York, placing 79th in the 400 (50.94) and 33rd in the 200 (22.51). "My dad being a coach I got brought into it at a young age, watching it, growing up looking at it," said Evan. "Then eventually I got into it in middle school and before that summer track club (Oberlin Spikes). It's fun racing people to see how far I can push myself." Evan credits offseason training as a big help. "I've been a lot more focused starting back in the fall," he said. "I started lifting more and just getting into it more in the indoor season. I've put a lot of effort in and it's been carrying me through into outdoor season." Evan has come a long way in three seasons of high school track. He was fourth in the 400 (52.87) and 200 (23.50) at the 2021 Norwayne district as a freshman, then 13th in the 400 (54.06) and 14th for the 200 (24.02) at the Massillon Perry regional. He moved up to second in the 400 (51.48) and fourth in the 200 (22.76) at the 2022 district. He placed fifth in the 400 (51.06) at the regional to qualify to state, where he placed 12th (51.22), 0.35 of a second from making finals (top nine). He barely missed regional finals (top eight) for the 200, placing ninth (23.24). "I've put in the work," Evan said. "I'm just so pleased with how things have come along. Last Friday I was going for it in the 400. When I crossed the finish line I was surprised and very happy." Olivia was also upbeat with how things unfolded. "There's always going to be ups and downs but I've kept focused on the big prize," she said. "I am trying to get better and better times. That's kept me going." Olivia's credentials took a nice step up over the winter, too. She finished 10th at the Division II-III state indoor meet in the 400 (1:00.91) and competed at the New Balance Indoor Nationals, placing 25th (1:02.39). "The 400 is definitely my favorite but I also like the 200, it would be second-favorite," said Olivia. "The 200 is a fun race. I like 400 better because it's longer." Jason Hudson is pleased with how Evan and Olivia have progressed. "With Evan first having qualified for New Balance, that sort of motivated Olivia to qualify for New Balance indoors," said Jason. "They're trying to do the best that they can but also there's a little bit of competition between them. It's nice sibling rivalry of sorts just because they both enjoy the same type of events. The sport is very demanding but it's super fun." Third-year Oberlin coach Rodney Hooks is delighted with the Hudsons. "It's just been a joy to have them," he said. "They help out with the other kids, who feed off them. Obviously they love their sport. They want to set a good example for their teammates. "Evan got the taste of it last year going down to state and not finishing as well as he wanted to. He worked hard over the summer and during indoor season and it's showing. That's one thing about that young guy, he's determined to get better every time he steps on the track. Olivia's just young right now. I don't think she knows how good she really can be but I think she's starting to. She's starting to get it and it's coming around. She's understanding a little bit more and more. I think the tiger is in there right now and it's starting to show in her 400, her 200 as well as the relay teams." In addition to winning Class B boys state championships in 1932 and 1936, Oberlin finished runner-up in boys track in 1930, '31 and '39 and has 14 other top-10 finishes dating to 1925. Its most recent top-10 came in 1999 when it placed third in Division III. The girls finished second at the 1985 Division II state meet for their highest finish. "They're ready to go for the next round," said Hooks. "They come to practice and we work hard. I say things to them that puts some little fire up underneath to let them know what we can do. We're hoping that we can add more kids to the program coming up from the middle school over the next couple years. We're really trying to get the program to where we can attract more athletes. "We want to let everyone know that Oberlin High is not just a basketball school, it's also a track school." Contact Paul Heyse at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.