Streetsboro Rockets’ senior Milena Sobie’s athletic career may have gotten off to a slow start but she has finished things off on a high note. Sobie defended her title in the 800-meter seated dash and 100-meter dash and also placed in two more seated events at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II state track meet last week at the University of Dayton’s Welcome Stadium.
“It means a lot to me,” Sobie said. “I feel like the placements just show how much I have learned and I feel like if you are not learning then you are not growing and I have grown so much as an athlete, coming in fifth place in every race in my freshman and sophomore year. Just coming back and wrapping it up with a gold medal shows how much I wanted it and how much I cared about it.”
Sobie, who suffers from spina bifida, a neural tube defect that occurs when the spine and spinal cord do not fuse properly, became Streetsboro’s first seated athlete in school history in her freshman season.
After some encouraging performances at the OHSAA Division II state meet in her first two years, the Rockets’ senior took a huge step forward when she won the seated shot put and the seated 800-meter dash last year.
In her final OHSAA Division II state meet, Sobie etched her name into the record books with another dominant performance.
On Friday, Sobie fell short of defending her state title in the seated shot put, taking third place with a distance of 18 feet, ½ inches and yielding the gold medal to Massillon Jackson sophomore Abigail LaPole, who captured first place by throwing a distance of 18 feet, 6¾ inches.
Sobie sat in on her first throw when she netted a distance of 17 feet, 3½ inches and continued exceeding distances on each of her next three throws.
“It did not work how I wanted but we have always known I am volume thrower,” Sobie noted. “Once I get started I do not stop.”
Sobie fell to second place when LaPole recorded 18 feet, 3¼ inches on her first throw and GlenOak junior Elena Knowles overtook her for second place when she netted 18 feet, 4¾ inches on her second throw.
Later in the day, Sobie advanced to the 100-meter seated dash finals when she qualified with a time of 24.23 seconds.
On Saturday, Sobie won her first career seated 100-meter dash finals by clocking a time of 23.48 seconds, dominating the race from the starting line.
“I have been focusing on that so much,” she added. “For me, getting off the line has always been a struggle since the other girls’ distabilities gives them an advantage since they have much mass in their legs. Some girls don’t have mass in their legs since they can’t walk but since I can walk, it almost gives me a disadvantage in sprints.”
Sobie followed up by defending her 800-meter seated dash state title, winning with a time of 3:11.06 and finishing approximately 9 seconds ahead of Grove City senior Esther-Faith Henn.
She finished her varsity career by finishing as the runner-up in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:27.70. She held a lead throughout most of the race but in the final 50 meters, Henn made a late charge and overtook Sobie in the final 10 meters to take first place.
“I was in the lead and then she was in the lead and then I was in the lead,” Sobie said. “In the last 100 meters it is always a sprint every year. I have been neck-and-neck with her and raced her for all four years and honestly I love that. I love having that competition and something to work for. If she had not been here, I would not have felt that I worked really hard for that considering that the girls had a big gap behind us.”
Sobie will graduate as a four-time seated state champion and could not be more grateful of the opportunities that Streetsboro has provided for her to compete at the state level. She will continue her athletic career when she heads to the University of Arizona next fall.
“With Milena, it has been an incredible four years,” said Coach Robert Kidd. “She has taught us so much with adapted athletes. I could not more proud. To come back our here and get two more state titles, it has been an amazing journey and it has been life-changing for her and for us and it will be a big loss when she is not around next year.”
