Haley Click runs leadoff and helps the Scouts take second in the 4×100 relay at the Lake County Invite. The senior standout also won the 300 hurdles and was a member of the winning 4×400 relay team. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER
She’s fluent in hurdles-speak — now.
That wasn’t the case for Lake Forest High School’s Haley Click three years ago. Her very first 300-meter hurdles race was not a thing of beauty. Or grace.
It was a mess.
Unwatchable.
“She stutter-stepped over every hurdle,” Lake Forest assistant coach Katie Darraugh recalled.
Eventually, coach and hurdler found a cure for her lack of fluidity.
And now …. this.
The 5-foot-10 Click, a University of Michigan recruit, is clicking off one good race after another. She is rhythm in motion.
And, talk about good theatre.
Currently, the senior is chasing down a school record owned by none other than … Katie Darraugh.
“I think Katie’s a little nervous about that,” said LF head coach Nathan Sweet, with a smile.
In 2006, Darraugh flew over the eight hurdles in this grueling race in 44.74.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Click ran a career-best 45.58 in the 300 hurdles at the Wauconda Invite on April 21. And then she followed that up with a 46.96 in frigid conditions at the Lake County Invite on April 27 at Deerfield High School.
“Someone is going to break it some day,” said Darraugh, a teacher at School of St. Mary in Lake Forest, who has been an assistant coach with the Scouts for the past six seasons. “I’d be happy, if she were to do it. Why not have it be broken by someone that you coach?”
Sweet saw this coming.
“She broke through at last year’s sectional meet [at Niles West],” said the LF coach.
After racing to a second-place finish in the 2016 North Suburban Conference meet (47.49), Click clocked a 46.61 to take runner-up honors in the Niles West Sectional. She then ran a 46.95 at state (16th place).
“The blossoming happened last year,” said Sweet. “She’s in full bloom this year.
“What makes her so good is her willingness to get better,” Sweet added. “Her expectation is to make it to the State Final this year. And I think that’s a realistic goal.”
Click still has some hurdles to clear.
Mental ones.
“I’m trying not to get into my own head,” Click said. “Trying not to get caught up in things..”
“Just compete and not overthink,” added Darraugh, who, after graduating from LFHS, went on to become a prized pole vaulter (clearing 12-4) at the University of Virginia. “It can be detrimental if you think too much.”
Breaking school records is nothing new for Click. On April 17 in a home double dual meet against Libertyville and Mundelein, she ran a 25.7 to set a school standard in the 200 meters.
She also is a part-owner of the school record in the 4×100 relay. On April 12 in a double dual against Stevenson and Lake Zurich, she teamed with Sydney Leonardi, Kamila Obrzut and Anna Curry to run a 50.6.
Click developed a love for track and field at a young age. She joined the Waukegan Invaders Track Club as a fifth-grader. That training has paid dividends.
“She always gives 100 percent at every practice and every meet,” said Darraugh. “Which I appreciate.”
“To be an elite athlete, you have to put in the work. And that’s what I’m aspiring to be,” said Click. “I’m trying to do my best with no regrets. Just trying to better myself.
“That’s what I like about this sport,” she added. “You get back what you put in.”
That also proved to be the case with her older brother. Taylor Click currently is running track at the University of Oklahoma after starting out at Columbia University and being a two-time Ivy League medalist. His specialty is the 800 meters (personal-best time of 1:51.78, set at Columbia).
Like her brother, Haley Click figures to flourish at the next level. The 400-hurdle event figures to be a perfect fit. She also is eyeing the steeplechase.
Versatility is one of her strengths.
“Honestly, I think she has the skill set to be great in the heptathlon [200 meters, 800 meters, 100 hurdles, long jump high jump, shot put and javelin] some day,” said Sweet.