ROGERS -- Hannah Lueders spent part of last year at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., but she wanted to enjoy her senior year back at Rogers High.
The standout sprinter signed a national letter of intent to run track at Pennsylvania at a ceremony surrounded by family and friends Tuesday afternoon at the commons area at Rogers High School.
Lueders finished third in the 100 meters and second in a photo-finish in the 200 as a sophomore in the Class 7A state track meet while competing for the Lady Mounties. However, she decided to attend the prestigious IMG Academy during the second semester of her junior year.
"I attended a camp there the summer before and I just clicked with the coaches," Lueders said. "They asked me to come to school there and my cousin plays baseball, so he actually went with me. That really improved me. I pr'd greatly in the summer time and that's what sparked the interest of a bunch of colleges."
She wanted to be able to spend her senior year with family and friends, before going away to college. That's the reason she came back to Rogers.
"My reason for going there was the improve my times and spark the interest and I did that," Lueders said. "It was very much pre-college, college before college. I just decided to stay home for my senior year."
Lueders said Pennsylvania was just the perfect fit for her, despite drawing interest from a variety of schools across the country such as Tulsa, Arkansas, Kansas and Villanova. But Penn stood out.
"I'd never been to Pennsylvania before, but after I got there it just felt like home," Lueders said.
Rogers girls track coach Becky Efurd was pleased to get the call telling her Lueders would be coming back to again be a Lady Mountie.
"I was so excited," Efurd said. "She qualified for state as a freshman and sophomore. Looking at the statistics, she should be on the top of the state for sprinters this year. She had a good, significant drop from freshman to sophomore year, too. Since she's come back, we've implemented the first time, an off-season track program. So I'll be anxious to see how things go because she's had another semester in the weight room."
Efurd said there's no question Lueders will run the 100 and 200, but she could also run the 400, too.
"She's definitely got potential to run 400," Efurd said. "She's just so strong and that might be a good fit for her."
Sports on 11/30/2016