As a freshman, Gabby Graham was approached by Tinley Park’s track coaches about becoming a hurdler. She said she wasn’t a big fan of that concept, but she would give it a try.
At first, it looked like it was going to be a very short venture.
“I actually hated it,” Graham said. “I didn’t like it. It’s kind of difficult when you are starting out because there are so many techniques you have to learn.
“You have learn to three-step. You have to learn how to go over the hurdle the right way. You have to get your knees up and everything. But it’s grown on me, and now I really love it.”
Graham became the first girls athlete for the Titans in track to win a state championship Saturday when she took the Class 2A title in the 300-meter hurdles at Eastern Illinois in Charleston.
A junior, Graham came through with a time of 43.56 seconds to end up well ahead of Thornridge’s Kyla Barker with a 46.24. Graham also finished third in the 100 hurdles with a 14.58 and joined Janiyah Oglesby, Kaylah Forrest and Natalie Gomez to finish second in the 400 relay with a 47.92.
The Titans, who had never won a sectional title until 2023, were able to bring home the first state trophy in program history by finishing third in Class 2A by a point.
The area had three state champions in Class 3A as Lincoln-Way East’s 1600 relay of juniors Kyra Hayden and Jumi Aremu and freshmen Nora Keane and Alaina Steele won with a 3:50.73.
Homewood-Flossmoor sophomore Jaloni Wiley won the shot put with a throw of 43 feet, 1.75 inches and Lockport’s McKena Miglorini won the pole vault with an 11-1.75.
Graham, meanwhile, confirmed that the strength of being a good hurdler is the ability to get into a rhythm. However, her rhythm was out of whack right away in the 300 race.
Mascoutah’s Jamison Love, who was in the fifth lane, tripped on the third hurdle and spilled into the fourth lane, where Graham was running. The two made contact.
“Her spike hit my knee,” Graham said. “I tried to pass that and avoid that and try to keep my pace. Yeah, that was a big thing.”
Initially, Tinley Park coach Wayde Tabor was worried about the collision. But Graham not only won the race, she dominated.
“It disrupted her for a split second and she definitely avoided something that could have been more catastrophic,” Tabor said of the contact. “After that, Gabby just turned it up.”
Forrest, a junior who finished third in the 400, has bonded with Graham over the years.
“I love being teammate with Gabby,” Forrest said. “We really push each other. She’s so uplifting, and I really admire her.
“When we were all freshmen, we were scared to talk to each other, but we’ve grown so much closer.”
Tabor credited hurdles coach Nick Johnston with developing Graham. Johnston also worked with Solomon Wilson-Smith, who won the Class 2A boys state title in the 110 hurdles in 2018.
“He has a great eye, and every year he picks out freshmen he thinks can be hurdlers,” Tabor said of Johnston. “He picked out Gabby right away, and in three years of working together, it’s been fantastic.”
For Graham, it’s not too early to think about what the 2025 season can bring. She said winning a state title will be a goal.
“It’s always something we want to work on,” Graham said. “We took third place now and it’s amazing. But we’re always going to be working harder to try for second or first next year.
“Anything’s possible.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
