BLOOMINGTON — Rochelle senior Katherine Bakken has experienced the atmosphere of competing at the state championships of track and field before, but for the first time in her high school career, Bakken was running indoors at the state level as opposed to outdoors.

After breaking the RTHS indoor school record in the 3200-meter run twice during the indoor season, Bakken represented Rochelle in the 2019 Illinois Top Times Indoor State Championships at the Shirk Center on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University this past weekend. The senior medaled in eighth place, finishing with a time of 11:42.37.

“The state meet was a really big meet, which seemed intimidating at first, but it ended up giving me more encouragement,” Bakken said. “I was excited to compete there for the first time, it was such an honor. I feel like I performed well because I kept fighting throughout the entire race. I’m definitely ready for the outdoor season.”

Bakken was the only Rochelle racer to participate in the indoor state championships this year. She and her Lady Hub teammates will now gear up for the outdoor season, which begins with a road dual meet against Ottawa on Tuesday, April 2. Bakken will look to return to the IHSA State Championships after qualifying in the 3200-meter run last season.

“I’m already doing so much better than I was last year at this time of the year,” Bakken said. “Running on the outdoor track should only help my times improve. My goals for the outdoor season are to break my outdoor record, qualify for the state meet in the 3200-meter run again and hopefully PR in the mile. I need to stay focused and continue to hit the right times during my workouts.”