Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Koser takes time before finding her spot in track
FAYETTEVILLE — To see Solara Koser perform as she competes in the hurdles, sprints or long jump leaves the initial impression that she’s been doing so for a long time.
But that wasn’t the case for the Fayetteville junior, who will split her time between the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, the 400 and the long jump during today’s Class 6A state meet at Fort Smith Southside. It wasn’t until she tried a variety of sports before she finally found her niche in track and field.
“I basically tried everything, except basketball,” Koser said. “I did soccer, softball, tennis, a little bit of volleyball. I did soccer for about six years with the city of Fayetteville. I did softball for a year. I tried out for the volleyball team and didn’t make it, so I cut that out.
“Basketball, I didn’t want to do it because I could never dribble a ball and couldn’t shoot. Softball, I was fine with for a little bit but they kept putting me in positions I didn’t like. Tennis is mostly technique that I couldn’t get right, either.”
Koser originally gave cross country a try when she was an eighth grader at Fayetteville’s Ramay Junior High School because it was a fall sport that transitions into track and field in the spring. She said she did OK in cross country — a 20th-place finish in the Northwest Arkansas Junior High Conference meet in 2020 — but she admitted that she wasn’t too fond of running those long distances.
It was a completely different feeling when Koser started track and field.
“Once I got into track, I thought, ‘Oh, I can actually start seeing some of potential,’ ” Koser said. “That sport just really stuck with me the rest of the year.
“First of all, I didn’t have to do long distances, so I was happy with that. Overall, I really enjoyed what I was doing once I started hurdling and doing sprints. I’m really glad I stuck with it instead of letting my bad times get the best of me.”
Fayetteville Coach Drew Yoakum saw enough in Koser as a freshman that she was moved up to the high school team. She responded with a third-place finish in the 100 hurdles during the Class 6A state meet and the Meet of Champions. She also took sixth in the 300 hurdles at state and fifth at the Meet of Champs.
Then Koser became serious about her performances last year, and the results showed. She won both hurdles events at the Class 6A state meet and the Meet of Champs, and she also showed her ability in the long sprints when she won the 400 during the 6A-West Conference meet.
“When she walked in, just by her demeanor and the way she looks, she had the opportunity to do well,” Yoakum said. “We saw she had some speed and had some ability — could hurdle a little bit. She just needed time to refine her ability and some practice, and she took off from that point on and never looked back.
“The desire of being good and the motivation of being one of the best has pushed her to continue that, as well as her hard work — beyond what we do here. She puts in all kinds of hours outside what we do here to make herself better. She’ll look at every minute thing, and every little thing matters.”
Koser continues to push herself to be even better this season as she remains unbeaten through in-state competition. She ran a wind-aided 13.90 in the 100 hurdles in the Texas Relays last month, and she even took first place in the 400 during the 6A-West Conference meet last week.
With a good performance during today’s Class 6A state meet at Fort Smith, Koser could rewrite the record book in the 100 hurdles. The current mark is 14.34 seconds, set by Jada Baylark of Little Rock Parkview in 2016, and Koser ran a 14.13 during the Bulldog Relays earlier this season.
State records, however, can only be set in state meets and the Meet of Champs, according to Arkansas Activities Association guidelines.
“I’m looking forward to doing both hurdles and improving on my long jump,” Koser said. “Hopefully break some records and just trying to essentially get my times down. In the 100 hurdles, I’m trying to get down under the 14s and in the high 13s like I did at Texas Relays.
“For 300 hurdles, I’m trying to get my time into the 42s, and in the long jump hopefully get in the 19s. We’ll see what happens.”