Rashni Walker of Northridge track and field repeats at AHSAA girls heptathlon championship
Leading after the first day of the AHSAA decathlon/heptathlon state championships, Northridge senior Rashni Walker held on in Day 2 to win her second straight heptathlon championship with 4,981 points.
On Day 2, Walker, a Samford signee, clinched the 2022 championship by winning the javelin with a 124 feet, 1 inch throw. On Day 1, Walker won the 100-meter hurdles at 14.12 seconds and the shot put with a 37 feet, 8.5 inch throw.
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St. Paul's Episcopal freshman Janie Ford finished second with 4,797 points. Walker won four events at the 6A track and field championships earlier this month.
"She a very powerful and explosive athlete, and because she's a very powerful athlete she was able to have success in the shot put and the javelin," Northridge track and field coach Jeff Sparks said. "You don't necessarily think about that when you think about sprinters, hurdlers and long jumpers. She's not your average shot put competitor."
Walker didn't consider herself a heptathlon athlete until she won last year's heptathlon because she never had success at shot put and javelin before transferring from Ellwood Christian Academy ahead of her junior year.
Walker made strides in her jumps, too.
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"It took a lot of work trying to figure out the rhythms that I needed, the right steps, how to relax to allow my body to do what I need it to do," Walker said. "It took a lot of mental training as well. ... With all the crazy training that my dad and coach Sparks helped me go through, especially with the conditioning part for the (800-meter hurdles) and to be able to have something to finish out with, that took it over for me."
Walker has always been a strong sprinter and hurdler thanks to training she's done with her father, Jeffery, who was coached by Sparks at Selma High.
Walker's father instilled in her a great work ethic, Sparks said.
Her first-place finishes at the track and field championships were 40 feet, 7.5 inches in the shot put, 141 feet, 3 inches in the javelin throw, 43.54 seconds in the 300-meter hurdle and the 100-meter hurdles in 14.47.
"(My father) focuses on training all around, so if you can do this workout right here, you'll be able to finish strong," Walker said. "... When you come out on the track, it won't be as hard as it was in practice because you'll do it maybe two to five times back-to-back with a short amount of time to rest. When you come out here you do it one time and you're done."
Jerell Rushin is a recruiting reporter for the Tuscaloosa News and the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jrushin@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @JerellRushin_.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Northridge's Rashni Walker repeats at AHSAA heptathlon championship
