1600m
Fresh off of a competitive cross country season, Hutchins had a successful transition indoors.
She finished ninth at Foot Locker Nationals in 17:43.4 and before that set a new PR of 17:25.80 which placed her in the freshman top 10 and gave her an eighth-place finish at the Foot Locker South Regional.
One indoor meet was enough to get the job done for Hutchins, a first year student at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee. At the Mondo Elite HS Invitational, she won the 1600m with a time of 4:55.60. When she ran the freshman No. 1 time, Hutchins had to let is all sink in.
"I didn't realize it right away, so I was very excited to learn that my hard work had paid off," she said. "It makes me even more motivated to prepare well for the outdoor season."
Her new PR puts her amongst an elite group of girls who led their classes in the event like, Katelynne Hart (4:448.60), Ajee Wilson (4:58.78), Bryn Morley (4:57.03) and more. Heading into outdoor season, Hutchins is focusing on improving her times in the 800m and 1600m. But in order to do, she says she'll have to race fast, and strategically, like her idol Shelby Houlihan.
"Typically, in many of my races, I start out in the front pack but wait until the end of my race to pass my competitors which is the same or very similar to Shelby's strategy," she said. "I'm incorporating more speed work, but I am mostly just focusing on having fun in my races and working hard at practice."