Destined for Harvard, Tahoma’s Adaji Osaro-Igwe looking to make most of senior year
It was supposed to be Adaji Osaro-Igwe’s turn.
The Tahoma High School track star is already a state champion. She won the 200-meter dash in 2019, and she was a member of the 4x100 relay team that took back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019. But as she entered her junior year, the departure of several talented seniors put Osaro-Igwe in the spotlight.
And then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, canceling the 2020 season. Instead of practicing with her team and working to lead Tahoma to a fourth consecutive Class 4A state championship, Osaro-Igwe kept in shape through unofficial training sessions — first with a few teammates and later on her own.
“She was just getting to step into, ‘Hey, I’m next,’ ” Tahoma track and field coach Jeff Brady said. “She hadn’t really gotten a chance to show what she can do in the 100, the 200, the 400. Learning from those girls that were ahead of her, I know that she had a great shot of breaking state records, winning multiple state titles and really showing what she could do.
“It kind of falls back to who she learned from. She is a learner and she had the opportunity to watch these other girls and really learn and mold from them. So, she missed out on a lot.”
Osaro-Igwe admits she was disappointed by the lost season. She had goals for her junior year — a list that included more state championships. The state meet isn’t being held this year either, so many of those goals will never come to fruition.
“I think it was really hard at the beginning,” Tahoma sprints coach Aaron Blake said. “And then, over time, she tried to take it in stride. But I could kind of sense it — just like everybody else — that it was a hard thing to deal with. After we kind of got over that, that initial shock of everything, I started sending out information and some workouts. She started doing that and then showing up to the school when she could and practicing.”
Osaro-Igwe still has aims for her senior season. She wants to set personal records, run faster than she has in the past. But her main goal is preparing for a college career that will begin next year when she travels across the country to Harvard University.
It was a dream come true, Osaro-Igwe said, to get into an Ivy League school. She was in contact with several colleges during her junior year and sent several inquiry emails over the summer. When she heard back from Harvard, she went through the process of meeting with the track and field coaches, building relationships and learning more about the athletic program.
For Osaro-Igwe, Harvard offered the ideal balance between athletics and academics. She wants to major in something science-related, likely biology or neuroscience.
“I just love learning about the human body, especially the brain,” Osaro-Igwe said. “It’s just all super interesting to me. Just knowing how things work in the body, and how it just connects to everything was really exciting.”
Blake still thinks about what could have been, how Osaro-Igwe could have been the athlete to lead Tahoma to another state title. But he’s excited to follow her career at Harvard. After guiding her through high school, he knows she’s ready for the next level.
Both Blake and Brady remember taking notice of Osaro-Igwe when she was still in middle school. Her speed was obvious, Brady said, but her mechanics and form still needed work.
“She’s put in hours and hours and hours with Coach Blake,” Brady said. “And he has just been able to fine-tune her. If you looked at the video between middle school and where she is now, you’d be like, there’s no way that’s the same runner. She has been able to show that, hey, you could take raw speed and put in some good mechanics. And now she’s just outstanding.”
Blake said the biggest difference between Osaro-Igwe as a freshman and now is her communication. She’s an introvert, he said, but she’s turned herself into a leader. She even demonstrated warm-ups and drills on video for Blake to post on the athletic website.
“She runs most of the practices for us,“ Blake said, “doing drills and warm-ups and making sure that everybody’s on the same page.”
Ivy League schools don’t offer athletic scholarships, and Blake said Osaro-Igwe definitely could have earned one somewhere else.
But just like on the track, Osaro-Igwe is always looking forward.
“She knows life is not just about track and field,” Blake said. “It’s about academics and setting yourself up for success. … She really is looking forward, like ‘Hey, I can get the most out of a Harvard education.’ She’s willing to make that sacrifice. … It’s not all about track. It’s about building a well rounded individual.”
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
