Winter Track: Onye Ohia-Enyia

Despite having spent two seasons as a member of the Basketball team and playing soccer since age 4, this year Onye Ohia-Enyia is looking forward to an exciting season as a sprinter on the Indoor Track team. Hoping to continue to improve upon his numerous accolades from his freshman and sophomore outdoor track seasons, he decided to switch to winter tack to garner the recognition of colleges and get in shape for the upcoming spring season.

Onye initially joined the Hackley track team at the encouragement of a friend, never having run before ninth grade. “If not for my friend Amin Mustefa I might have never done track. He literally taught me everything to know about the sport and always told me I would be great. Although sometimes he underestimated me that just motivated me to push myself and prove him wrong.”

Onye currently holds a series of PRs and school records. While he considers his favorite event to be the 200 meter dash, Onye is most proud of his 400 meter time, and for good reason considering he holds the school record in this event. “I ran a 48.66 400 meter at the Glenn D. Loucks games (one of the biggest meets on the East Coast) as a sophomore and earned a 4th place spot on top of the podium. I think I’m most proud of this because I came a long way from a 53.7 my freshman year to becoming one of the best 400 meter runners in the state.” In order to improve upon his already impressive performances, Onye is looking to slightly alter the way his strategic approach to this event. “In the past I’ve started of a little slow in the beginning if my 400s which is one full lap around the track but this year I’ll try to give it all I’ve got from the beginning.” In doing so he hopes to bring his time down to 46 or 47 seconds.

Another one of Onye’s numerous notable accomplishments include his performance in the 4×100 meter in the same Loucks Games. Of this race he said, “Our 4X100 also ran a 41.59 at the Loucks games which is the school record and top ten fastest time ran by a high school team in several years…I was never so nervous in my life and I was just thinking that I can’t let my teammates, coaches, parents and especially myself down. We placed first. Our 4X400 record is a 3:21.” Additionally, he finished his sophomore season All-county in the 400 meter, 4×100 and 4×200 meter relays.

While his motivation comes in part from his own goals, he notes his teammates as being a source of inspiration as well. “My biggest inspiration is my former teammate Darius Inzar. He started running the 400 before me and as soon as I joined the track team he took me under his wing. He had never [gone] under 50 seconds and I’ll never forget the day he told me, ‘Onye, I was never able to achieve this goal. I want you to run your heart out Bambi and do this for the both of us,” he said.

Onye is looking for a promising winter season and is excited to work towards his goals as he transitions from solely running in the spring to being a two-season runner. He added, “This [referencing his 400 meter goal time] is a huge step for me and I know I can achieve it through hard work and dedication, and this was in fact a huge reason why I quit basketball and soccer. If you know me I love basketball and wouldn’t give it up for the world, but track is my life and it’s literally a part of who I am today.” While it may be an adjustment going from running in the warm spring weather to trudging through the snow and running on the typical 200 meter winter track, the Hackley community is excited to see what Onye will accomplish this season and beyond.