Meet Hopewell’s Next Great Track and Field Athlete- Harley Hample

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Hopewell HS Track and Field Coach Jeff Brunton has been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with many talented athletes during his tenure as head coach.

The most recent name to come to mind is Emma Palmieri, who graduated last year and currently holds 4 school records in track and field.
-200m (25.60)
-400m (57.45)
-4×100 (48.82)
-4×400 (4:09.67)

It sure looks as though Brunton has another special track star, and the exciting thing is that she’s only a sophomore.

If they weren’t familiar with her yet, many people associated with track and field in Western Pennsylvania found out about Hopewell’s Harley Hample this weekend.

At the Beaver County Championship meet at Riverside High School, Hample had an incredible day as her team won the 4×100 relay, the 400m dash, the 200m dash and anchored the 4×400 relay to a win.

For those accomplishments, Hample was named the girls Most Valuable Performer for both the track events, and overall.

This afternoon, Vikings Sports Now had the pleasure of spending some time with Hample to talk about her weekend and her meteoric rise this season.

“This weekend was really big for me, and I was excited by what I was able to accomplish,” Hample tells VSN.

Was she surprised at all with the amount of success she had on Saturday?

“Yeah, a little (laughing).”

“It’s been really gratifying to see how much she’s improved all year,” said Hopewell HC Jeff Brunton. “Harley is an athlete just always shows up for the work out. Beforehand, she’ll let me know how hard she thinks it’ll be and afterward, she’ll let me know how hard it was, but in between, she absolutely crushes it. She is someone that has consistently gotten better and for us as coaches, that’s gratifying because it tells us that what we’re doing is working.”

“Every time that she runs, she’s taking time off her previous performances. I’m seeing in the work outs and thinking she can do this next and possibly do this next, so I kind of expected that kind of performance going into that meet. I really thought she could come home with a bunch of gold but I didn’t tell her that. It was very fun to watch all of it happen because she certainly has done the work and earned it.”

The Beaver County Championship wasn’t the first time that Hample has come in first place in these different events this season. While it hasn’t gotten to this point yet but it’s getting to the point where she’s entering these events, as did Palmieri, as the pre-race favorite.

All of that is something different from last season but she entered the season with high expectations for herself.

“I really felt as though I had to step it up this year with Emma gone,” said Hample. “I’m also the anchor for the 4×4 so I kind of had to replace her. Plus, I’m in all of these sprinting events, I had the mindset that I needed to perform well for my team.”

“I’m not going into these meets with any different mindset. I’m still going in nervous, like I always do. I’m not going into these expecting and thinking I’m going to win, but I’m trying my best to do so.”

It’s one thing to want to be good and to win, heck everyone that competes in a sport wants to win and do well, but it’s an entirely different thing to be able to accomplish it.

I asked Hample about that and what her key to success has been.

“Just showing up to practice, ready to work and wanting to get better,” Hample. “I didn’t do indoor track last year, but I did it this year instead of basketball. I believe that really helped me to improve. I worked a lot over the winter, plus I’m involved with Cup Soccer, which keeps me moving. I’m always moving and always in shape. I believe all of that helps.”

“It wasn’t until we got into a couple indoor meets where I saw her improve drastically and started to think about how really good, she could be,” said Coach Brunton. “She did really well as freshman and was on the 4×4 that set the school record. Harley is a very tough athlete; she works hard and can take a lot of punishment in workouts. I knew she had the mental makeup and physical strength to do it but it wasn’t until maybe the 3rd indoor meet where she got really fast. That’s when I started to think, there might not be a ceiling for her this year.”

Hample tells me that another thing that’s helped her improve has been her concentration on longer sprints, which is something she works intently on every Saturday.

Another ingredient to her improvement has been the coaching she’s received from Brunton, someone Hample enjoys having as her coach.

“Coach is very patient,” said Hample. “I feel like a lot of coaches aren’t patient. He’s one of the most patient people ever until you push his buttons. That helps him work and have success with his athletes.”

“During practice, he pushes me and everyone on the team during workouts but he’s also good with encouraging all of us.”

Wrapping up our talk, I was curious as to whether or not Hample has started to let herself think of long terms goals that she would like to accomplish. She still has a lot of time left, considering Harley is only a sophomore.

“I would like first make it to the WPIAL tournament for individuals and then I hope to qualify for states,” said Hample.

How about possibly setting school records one day?

“(laughing) I’ve definitely looked and thought about it, and I have 2 years left, so I have a lot of time. I definitely think I can and will be trying.”

Those events she’s eyeing are the 200 and 400m, which are held by Palmieri.

“She’s on that pace right now and she may even be outpacing Emma at this point of her career,” said Brunton. “She’s very similar to Emma in terms of her work ethic and I think a lot of the things I learned coaching Emma, will really help her and maybe surpass what Emma was able to accomplish.”

“When Emma graduated last year, I thought I would have a long spell between girls of that type and ability, but Harley is here.”

Seeing her work ethic and improvement she’s already made in just a year and half, I certainly think all of that is possible.

Congratulations and best of luck Harley!