The transition from high school to college is hard for any young athlete, especially one who’s looking to make an immediate impact on the next level. But the ups and downs help build character, which is essential for athletes in their quest to reach their full potential.
Juliette Laracuente-Huebner, who now competes in the multi-events for the University of Cincinnati, was a force to be reckoned with during her time in high school, and was one of the best athletes in the country. She was the only athlete to represent her high school at the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches state indoor championship, where she won the team title by herself and four individual titles.
In the outdoor season, she repeated the same success, which resulted in a team runner-up finish at the OATCCC outdoor championships.
Laracuente-Huebner admitted that the adjustment to college life was difficult for her during the beginning of her freshman year. She balanced taking 16 credit hours with the rigors of training and adapting to a new routine when it comes to training. The stress that she felt as she tried to get used to a new routine weighed on her mental health and her performance on the track early on in the season.
“It was just like such a hard adjustment, and that definitely took a toll on my mental health and my athletic career and everything because It just made me feel like I wasn’t gonna have a good year,” she said. “And then on top of that, knowing that I was having a rough season and then knowing what I did in high school and kind of feeling the pressure to continue that on in college right away – at the beginning of the season, it was so hard to handle. Luckily, I found a lot of people on the team.”
During the Big 12 Indoor Conference Championships, Susan Seaton, the head coach of the Bearcats track and field and cross country team noticed and mentioned to Laracuente-Huebner that she didn’t look as if she were having fun as she was competing.
She told her that there was no pressure on her as she geared up to run the hurdle portion of the women’s pentathlon, and the interaction between coach Seaton and Laracuente-Huebner was a game changer for the talented freshman.
“I feel like once I finally let that pressure from myself of like, you have to do this, you have to like, be this amazing athlete right away into college,” she said. “Once I let that go, that’s when I popped off at Indoor Conference. And then I finally realized that this is how I need to feel all the time.”
Laracuente-Huebner went on to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, and she earned second-team All-American honors with her performance in the pentathlon. She was the only underclassman in the field of talented athletes who competed.
The tough times that Laracuente-Huebner endured gave her a new found perspective on success, and how winning shouldn’t deter the love that she has for the sport when she competes.
“I feel like me not winning almost made it less fun, which is just not how it is, and that’s not how it should ever be,” she said. “I should enjoy the sport for what it is. And the joy that it brings me. And I think that everything that I went through in the fall showed me that I have to put my joy and love for the sport over what I do in it.
That’s the thing that matters the most is having fun. In this sport and like in college at this level like you made it to the one of the highest levels and you’re in the one percent that get to do this”
The effort that Laracuente-Huebner’s puts in training as well as competition is what brings her good cheer regardless of the results. She says she’s thankful for her support system that includes her teammates, coaches and family, and all of these things bring her hope when her journey seems rocky.
“Going through all of the hard days and then knowing that no matter what happens, I worked my ass off for it,” she said. “And that’s like almost suffering a little bit and then having like a small little glimpse of joy. That’s what makes me the happiest.”
Laracuente-Huebner will get the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships next week at the legendary Hayward Field, located at the University of Oregon, which has been a dream of hers. Regardless of the results that will come from the competition, she’s proud of the season that she’s had.
“I’m so happy with how my season has turned out, indoor and outdoor,” she said. “And I think just going through the struggles and then coming out and being the only underclassmen in the multi and indoor, that’s kind of what made my year.“
Great article Dom as always!