SOPHIA HARTWELL leans forward to grab third place in the 300-meter hurdles at the Empire League track and field finals.

Most high school athletes peak in their senior year, as their bodies and their skills develop. If true, the sky’s the limit for Sophia Hartwell, a freshman from Pacifica High School.

MARINER track and field coach John Greenroy with Sophia Hartwell and her honors as top Empire League and PHS track athlete.

She’s been named the Most Valuable Athlete in track and field for both the Empire League, and the West Garden Grove school.

In the Empire League finals, she won the triple jump with a distance of 35-feet, two inches, beating the second place competitor for nearly three feet. She also won the league long jump title with a distance of 16-feet and 10.5 inches. Both performances were personal bests.

But that’s not all. She also competed in the 300-meter hurdles, taking third with a time of 51.39 seconds and in the 4×100 relay when the Mariner team placed fifth with a time of 51.5 seconds.

Hartwell advanced to the CIF-SS Division 3 finals as the only freshman there.