Athlete Name: Luke Dobbins
School: Bayside Academy
What was your most memorable meet and why?
My most memorable meet was the Icebreaker invitational this year going into the meet my mile PR was a 5:07 and I came out winning the fast heat with a 4:42. It was the moment when I realized that all the setbacks I'd had led up to this moment.
Where did you face your biggest competition?
My biggest competition was the Hewitt Trussville invitational. We traveled to the meet to try and get some good competition to break 2 because our area doesn't really have that. I got boxed in at the beginning and came through the 400 at 1:01 but managed to come back the second Lap slightly short of breaking 2 with a 2:00.80
Out of all of your high school accomplishments, which stands out the most and why?
As far as running goes, definitely winning the 4x8 this year during outdoor season. Ben lane and I have talked about doing it since freshman year back when we both ran consistent 2:30's... fortunately our dream became a reality, and we were able to take down the 3A distance powerhouse ACA as well as defend our title from indoor. As far as school goes, definitely maintaining the high gpa and getting the high act score that was able to get me into Samford's fast track pt program and receive many scholarships to help get me through college as inexpensive as possible.
If you could do it all over again, what would you change about your running career in high school?
I would start eating better and running longer a whole lot sooner. Like the famous quote says, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." If you are working as hard as you possibly can and you aren't getting any better, than you need change what you're doing. Find out what works for you, and that's when you'll succeed.
What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome during your HS Track career?
On August 1st I went to the factory trampoline park in gulf shores and I broke my fibula. During my time on crutches I really debated if I even wanted to keep running or if this was just a sign for me to stop. Fortunately enough I was able to turn it into a motivator to get better instead of giving up. I began eating healthier, cross training as much as possible and even got to compete in the very tail end of cross country with very little training. Overall the experience of having to not be able to run and watch all of my competitors succeeding was terrible, but being able to come back stronger than ever and beat so many people that used to beat me was definitely one of the most accomplishing experiences I've had. Oh yeah and that time I face planted at indoor state.
What will you miss the most?
Definitely my team. Bradley, myles, ben, Ernest, and Christopher are all my brothers and I'm gonna miss them but they're all gonna keep kicking butt in the future.
Do you have any advice for younger athletes?
Don't give up even when the setbacks are major. The comebacks are ALWAYS better than the setbacks and you have to remember that. Also there is never such thing as too much fairlife chocolate milk
What are your post-highschool or college plans?
I will be attending Samford University and participating in their fast track Doctorate physical therapy program
Who would you like to say thank you to?
I want to thank my teammates and best friends that all double as running buddies: Bradley Schmidt, Ernest Ladd, Ben Lane, Lauren West, Myles Cook, Grace Jensen, and Jared Touart. I want to thank my parents for sacrificing all of their weekends since 8th grade. I also want to thank Coach Foster for getting the fat kid to start running, and for coach Dave and Swaggart for developing me into the runner I became. And most importantly want to thank God for giving me the ability to run in the first place.
