RISING ABOVE THE FIELD: Bartlesville's Ragen Hodge soars to first in MOC track meet

Wisdom is the province of not just the aged.

Departing Bartlesville High senior Ragen Hodge already understands the value of each moment.

“I really focused on just being thankful for every jump,” Hodge said about her approach this season to high jump competition. “I would say, ‘Thank you, God, for this jump.’”

Hodge was especially grateful earlier this week for winning a gold medal at the Annual Meet of Champions, which pitted the elite of all classes into head-to-head competition at Oklahoma Baptist University.

Hodge cleared the bar at 5-feet-4 inches to claim the title.

In 11 meets this season, Hodge floated to first place eight times and to second place the other three times. She topped out at 5-foot-6 three times and came up just an inch short of the Bartlesville school record.

But, Hodge never took her opportunities for granted.

Hodge understands what it’s like to lose the chance to compete in one event that she loves and flirted on the edge of not being able to high jump.

Her high school track career began with a flush of success. As a freshman, she qualified for state in both the girls 100m hurdles and the girls high jump.

In the hurdles, she finished less than a second away from qualifying for the finals.

She displayed her the height of her expression in the high jump, finishing third at 5-feet-2.

As a sophomore (2020) she burst into the campaign like an eagle with greased wing. In a mid-March meet at Edmond Santa Fe, Hodge cruised to third in the girls 100m hurdles and won the long jump at 5-foot-4.

Earlier in the season, she finished second in the girls 100m hurdles, sixth in the girls 300m hurdles and won the girls high jump at an Owasso meet.

The scenario for great future successes seemed certain for Hodge.

But, then destiny clamped down hard on the humble, dedicated and talented competitor.

The first major blow was the spring sports lockdown in mid-March 2020, as part of a nationwide response to the coronavirus.

Then, during her junior track season, Hodge battled with a bad knee, which also forced her to give up hurdles running.

“I loved the hurdles,” Hodge said. “But, I didn’t want to risk it (knee damage).”

Hodge refused to turn her back on high jumping. She forced herself into qualifying (5-foot-2) for the 2021 state track meet but finished only sixth (tied) at 5-feet-even.

Hodge’s determination as a junior set the table for a fruitful senior campaign.

She opened up the season with a 5-foot-6 height to win the Owasso meet.

“The first time ever I cleared 5-foot-6 I realized could go further than I had,” she said.

Hodge strung together consistency of excellence throughout the season’s journey, including finishing second at the Class 6A state meet.

Hodge eyed one more prospect to jump as a prep — at the MOC.

She earned the gold to end her Bartlesville High track career on a proper note.

“It was very surreal,” Hodge said about her final jumps. “I was looking around at my teammates and competitors — people I had jumped against since middle school. … It was very bittersweet.”

But, Hodge also is living to jump another day.

She has signed a NCAA Division I letter of intent to attend the University of Arkansas-Little Rock and compete in the event.

As she looks forward to what her emotion might be next fall about not being in high school, “I think I’ll miss the atmosphere of it,” she said. “I really don’t know what the college atmosphere is going to be like. I don’t think it will compete with how it was at home. I felt here of track being my refuge, my escape. … I’ll miss the at-home feeling.”

But, regardless of the setting, Hodge won’t forget one thing — each day of health is a blessing and each jump is a sliver of freedom.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Focus on MOC track championship by Ragen Hodge