At the TVC Matchup against the Hemlock Huskies Wednesday, May 4, Senior Libby Munderloh broke the St. Louis High School record in the 300-meter hurdles. Munderloh’s time was a blazing 46.73. The previous record-holder was Kristi Herrington with a time of 47.74 set in 2001. 

Munderloh said, “It’s always been a big goal of mine to take a school record before I graduate; however, I definitely didn’t think I’d be taking down the 300-meter hurdles. When I was younger, I had my eyes set on pretty much everything else; but my training and ability to be on a team where I can try a lot of different things has landed me here, which I’m really grateful for.”

At the same meet, Munderloh also had a new personal record in the open 200-meter dash with a time of 26.58. She’s now ranked first in the 300-meter hurdles in the region and in Division 3 overall. 

Munderloh first started working on hurdles last year during her junior season. She competed in a handful of different events last year, ranging from the 100-meter dash all the way to the 3200-meter run. Her versatility quickly helped her adapt to the 300-meter hurdles when she first ran it last spring. She ended up with a PR of 49.67 in 2021. 

Nonetheless, it’s evident that Munderloh has put in numerous hours of hard work to get to the level of success she has today. She has high goals and does what it takes to achieve them. 

Munderloh stated, “I’ve definitely spent a lot of time out of season prepping not just for hurdles, but for running in general. I do a lot of training on my own. Especially within this track season, and without all of that extra time, I know I wouldn’t be accomplishing what I am today.”

She added, “I wholeheartedly believe that hurdling is a craft you never quite master, and it takes a lot of constant perfecting. I’m blessed with a dad that really enjoys training me in them though and a huge portion of thanks and credit has to go to him for this record.”

During the race, Munderloh did not have the thought of the record in her mind. It was a smaller meet, and she didn’t have the biggest competition to race against. 

“Honestly, during the race I wasn’t even thinking about the record at all,” Munderloh said, “I was just focusing on my technique. After the race, my dad showed me my split and it didn’t really register how much I improved by. The shock and excitement started to set in as the night went on actually.”

She added, “I definitely think I have room for improvement, so that is really exciting and hopefully as I get more competition at invites and such I will be able to further improve my time. I’m proud of my current ranking, but I try not to let it get into my mind too much so that I can just keep working on my own goals without comparing myself to my competitors just yet.”

Munderloh will be continuing her cross country and track careers at Division 1 Central Michigan University next year. There’s still a few more meets left before the Sharks get to shine during championship season. Munderloh and the rest of the girls track team will next compete Wednesday, May 11, at their last home matchup of the season.