INDIANAPOLIS — Even the most gifted high school athletes in the South Bend community battle with self-confidence.
Even state champions get in their own head.
Even people who are more athletic and can run faster than most people could ever dream of feeling pressure.
Track and field, like any sport, is almost as much about the mental as it is the physical. That much was certainly true Friday, June 5, at the IHSAA girls track and field state finals at North Central High School.
South Bend Washington senior defending state champion Adriana Swanson may be one of the most accomplished athletes in her home city’s history, but not even she is not immune to pre-race jitters.
“I’m here for a reason; I deserve to be here,” Swanson told herself before prelims.
Even someone who had not lost a race her entire senior season in the build to the state finals — both in the 100-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles — needed to pump herself up before taking the track. It worked, as she came out of the three prelim heats with the top time heading into the championship later in the evening.
As she crossed the finish line, Swanson showed a rare display of on-track emotion, clapping her hands in a sign that her confidence was back. However, when the finals did come around, Swanson finished in third place to the new state champion Jordyn Fort, a sophomore from Merrillville.
Instead of justifiably being upset after losing her first 100-meter hurdles high school race since the 2024 state finals, Swanson instead immediately congratulated Fort on the victory. It’s displays like that which make Swanson a genuine household name in South Bend and around Indiana’s track and field community.
“I’m happy when they succeed because they’re happy when I succeed,” Swanson said. “They deserve the praise. They deserve to get noticed. They deserve the high-fives. They deserve everything.”
Swanson said she felt like her intensity could have been better when she defended her 100-meter hurdles crown, and she recognized there are always technical improvements to be made, too. With that said, she was pleased with the way she approached Friday mentally.
All season, Swanson has battled the pressure that comes with high expectations not only from the outside world, but ones she wanted to live up to herself.
She struggled to get out of her own head at times, but she didn’t let that stop her after the 100-meter hurdles with the 300-meter hurdles championship still in her sights. Swanson said she felt like a “beast” when it came time for her second race of the evening, and she went into it with added motivation after what she characterized as a disappointing 100-meter hurdles performance.
Although she didn’t win a state title in the 300 either, she did set a new personal record of 43.19 seconds.
Swanson has many more races to run as an Indiana University commit, but her final high school meet was a reminder of the mark she is leaving as a Panther. Despite coming back home with two third-place medals instead of returning as the first girls track and field athlete in South Bend history to win back-to-back state championships, Swanson finally won the mental game.
Maybe that’s more important than any trophy.
“It’s okay to feel down,” Swanson said. “I’m not saying I’m not proud of myself, but I am a little disappointed. I am very, very excited as well. I’m leaving today with a smile.”
Adams and Goshen sophomore prove the future is now
South Bend Adams sophomore Jaidyn Kimbrough isn’t immune to the mental struggles either, admitting that she can be an overthinker at times, especially ahead of a big race or meet. Her solution this weekend was a trip to the mall in Indianapolis Friday morning before reporting to North Central in the afternoon.
“I just distracted myself, went shopping and looked at stuff I wanted, so I didn’t really think about the race,” Kimbrough said. “If I would’ve thought about it, I would’ve been in my head and I would’ve been scared.”
Kimbrough showed no fear right out of the gates, setting a new PR in the 100-meter dash prelims and qualifying for the finals with an 11.94-second time. Even though she had a long evening ahead of her, still having to run in the 200-meter dash prelims, 100-meter dash finals, 4×100-meter relay and 200-meter dash finals, Kimbrough said she cried after her performance the first time she stepped on the track.
Of course, she wanted to win the state championship, but Kimbrough said her prelim finish made her simply happy to have qualified for the finals, coming into the meet with a 12.11-second seed time. She was more than complacent come championship time, finishing in fourth place at 12.20 seconds.
She one-upped herself later in the evening, setting an Eagles record with her second-place 200-meter dash finals finish of 24.46 seconds. With still two more high school seasons ahead of her and having spent her entire 10th grade campaign rebuilding her strength after tearing her ACL as a freshman, the sky is the limit for Kimbrough’s 2027 and 2028 seasons.
“When I stepped on the podium, I was like, ‘You just have to make sure you focus on speed during the summer,’” Kimbrough said. “I was proud, because last year, I didn’t even make it [to the finals] for the 100.”
Right behind Kimbrough in the 200-meter dash was Goshen sophomore Amari Lind. That was her first of two top-three finishes, the second of which came in the evening’s final race.
Lind was the anchor for the RedHawks’ second place 4×400-meter relay team, joined by senior Dartmouth commit Kristina Petkova, sophomore Destiny Sanchez and freshman Lainey Trenshaw. It’s hard to miss Lind on the track, as her strong legs reach out for longer strides than just about anyone else in the state.
Lind said she has always run that way, and she’s proud to be recognized for it dating all the way back to elementary school.
“It makes me feel powerful,” Lind said. “It’s one of those things not a lot of people have, and I’m really grateful for it.”
Goshen finished with the best team score of any South Bend Tribune coverage area school, tied for 15th place with 15 points. Lind was responsible for all of them.
Although Friday marked the end of an era for South Bend area girls track and field with it being Swanson’s final meet, it was also made clear that a new era could already have arrived with talents like Kimbrough and Lind still having multiple years left before they, too, are off to bigger and better things.
“Of all nights, this was the night to do it,” Lind said. “… I expect to be back here next year, and I’m really excited to keep improving and doing everything I can before college.”
Full South Bend area IHSAA girls track and field state finals results
100-meter dash
Emma Walter, Fairfield junior (3rd place, 12.15 seconds)
Jaidyn Kimbrough, South Bend Adams sophomore (4th place, 12.20 seconds)
200-meter dash
Jaidyn Kimbrough, South Bend Adams sophomore (2nd place, 24.46 seconds)
Amari Lind, Goshen sophomore (3rd place, 24.79 seconds)
400-meter dash
Kristina Petkova, Goshen senior (10th place, 57.58 seconds)
Emma Kincaid, Bremen senior (17th place, 58.64 seconds)
800-meter run
Kate Kincaid, Bremen sophomore (26th place, 2:24.61)
Agnes Hasler, South Bend Adams junior (27th place, 2:24.69)
1,600-meter run
Shreya Nayee, Penn sophomore (12th place, 5:06.78)
Vivy Miller, Plymouth junior (13th place, 5:07.41)
Annika Lute, Trinity Academy junior (28th place, 5:16.72)
3,200-meter run
Dakotah Moore, Northridge senior (9th place, 10:36.95)
Lila Van Hoveln, Penn junior (16th place, 10:59.92)
Shreya Nayee, Penn sophomore (21st place, 11:13.20)
100-meter hurdles
Adriana Swanson, South Bend Washington senior (3rd place, 14.11 seconds)
300-meter hurdles
Adriana Swanson, South Bend Washington senior (3rd place, 43.19 seconds)
4×100-meter relay
South Bend Adams (19th place, 48.77 seconds)
Concord (20th place, 48.78 seconds)
Jimtown (22nd place, 49.06 seconds)
4×400-meter relay
Goshen (2nd place, 3:51.16)
South Bend Adams (16th place, 4:00.78)
Penn (21st place, 4:04.29)
4×800-meter relay
Penn (15th place, 9:27.89)
Northridge (26th place, 9:43.44)
High Jump
Claira Foust, Fairfield junior (T-8th place, 5-05 feet)
Pole Vault
Lauren Arevalo, Penn sophomore (15th place, 11 feet)
Madi Collins, Elkhart junior (T-20th place, 10-06 feet)
Joya Holsopple, Fairfield junior (T-20th place, 10-06 feet)
Long Jump
Lydia Goodsell, South Bend Saint Joseph junior (4th place, 19-01.5 feet)
Tinayja Summers, South Bend Riley junior (T-13th place, 17-10 feet)
Shot Put
Brooklyn King, Jimtown senior (14th place, 39-09.25 feet)
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@usatodayco.com or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Kimbrough, Lind, Swanson shine at IHSAA girls track and field state finals
Reporting by Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune | USA TODAY Network
