When Sandburg’s Nkeoma Nwachukwu was in seventh grade at Orland Junior High, she tried the hurdles for the first time.
It didn’t go well.
“I fell,” she said. “It was embarrassing, and I didn’t do it again.”
Until high school.
As a freshman at Sandburg, she was asked to try the hurdles again. Nwachukwu agreed to do it, but she still wasn’t a fan. Heading into her sophomore year, she gave it up again.
“I was so frustrated,” Nwachukwu said. “I wasn’t making any progress.”
But after watching some YouTube videos, she had a change of heart and tried the hurdles in the middle of her sophomore season. The third time was a charm, and Nwachukwu qualified for state in Class 3A, finishing 23rd in the 100-meter hurdles.
She capped off her junior season by finishing 11th in the state with a program-record 14.85, and this spring, she’s eyeing the first medal in a hurdle event in program history.
The Southland is strong in the hurdles. Homewood-Flossmoor’s Breasia Mims and Diaymond Childress and Shepard’s Kyla Motley were underclassmen who earned state medals in 2024, and Nwachukwu hopes to be up there on the podium with them this spring.
After Nwachukwu fared well during the indoor season, Sandburg coach Tony Pena said what she’s doing is rare given her lack of training before high school.
“The girls that level of the state typically are kids who came from a junior high feeder or travel club program where they learned the technique for many, many years,” Pena said. “You don’t see a lot of girls at that level who have come to it late.
“She’s been awesome taking it on herself to learn it.”
Nwachukwu never imagined when she came to Sandburg that she would become a hurdler — especially one among the state’s elite.
Off the track, Nwachukwu said she was shy as a freshman, but that changed enough over the years that she became the student council president at Sandburg. She had to give speeches to students to get elected and delivers monthly reports at District 230 board meetings.
What has been the difference?
“I just wanted to have that confidence to try new things,” Nwachukwu said. “I wanted to grow from them. I told myself that I had to step out of my comfort zone. I didn’t like that I was shy.
“I wanted to be more confident and grow.”
The convincing speeches to her peers were effective.
“I told them how passionate I am about student council in general and being involved in the school,” Nwachukwu said. “I wanted to make the school a more fun experience.
“I also talked about student advocacy, student issues and stuff of that nature.”
She also gets a kick out of talking at board meetings.
“We get to submit reports from the students’ perspective,” Nwachukwu said. “We get to brag about our accomplishments. It’s been a good learning experience talking in front of a board.”
Nwachukwu doesn’t have a college picked out yet, but she’s receiving some interest for track. She hopes to earn a degree in nursing.
On the track, her finish in the 100 hurdles last spring at state was two spots away from competing for the medal on the second day at Eastern Illinois in Charleston.
Nwachukwu walked away with mixed feelings, but they were more good than bad.
“I didn’t go into the state championship expecting to do what I did,” she said. “I was in shock that I went sub-15. I just wanted to run a 15.2 to break the school record.
“I wasn’t as disappointed. It was a little disheartening being so close, but at the end of the day, I was really proud of myself.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
