Next year when you walk through the halls on your way to the gym, you will see two new records on the wall under the long jump and 200 meter category. The name Gilana Wollman will follow, as she broke both those school records with a jump of 19 feet in the long jump and a time of 25.30 in the 200. 

“Breaking the [long jump] school record was honestly an amazing feeling, but how far I jumped was a little bit surprising to me,” Wollman said. “This season I have gone above and beyond expectations that I had for myself before the season and I’ve accomplished things I didn’t even know I was capable of…from that point on I started realizing what I was really capable of and I’m excited to continue to improve.”

Wollman started running in 7th grade after her PE teacher saw her potential and suggested she join track. “I knew it would be something I could excel at and would enjoy a lot so I did it,” Wollman said. Although she never got into club track, Wollman’s love for track is limitless. “I think I’ve always been known to be pretty good at sports, but it wasn’t until track that I was really able to show the talents that I have.”

Her main events are the 100 meters, 200 meters, 4 by 100 meters, and long jump. Even though she loves running, this year she has discovered her love for the long jump. “I got into long jump in middle school as well. I always thought it looked really fun and I always did pretty well…I love both a lot [running and jumping], but I think this year I realized that I love jumping the most and am the most excited about the event,” she said. 

This year at the Shoreline Invitational, the big track event held at Shoreline Stadium where athletes from all around the state compete, she finished first in the long jump, 4th in the 200, and 2nd in the 100. “The Shoreline invitational had some really good competition for me which pushed me alot, mainly in the 200…I ran a lifetime best so I was happy about that,” says Wollman. 

But with all of this success comes a lot of hard work. “My schedule during the season, especially this year, has been very busy,” Wollman explained. “I’ve been balancing a job, school, and track all season, giving me little to no free time. During the off season I would weight lift every other day and do some running or plyometric workouts a few times a week.”

Next year she will continue her running and jumping career at Washington State University. “The process of getting recruited has been a little bit difficult, but you just have to put yourself out there,” Wollman said. “With performing my best times and marks so late during my senior season it made it so that I had to reach out to coaches as fast as possible. I went to visit WSU a few weeks ago and was able to get a hold of their coaches to meet with them when I was there. They were very kind and welcoming and I had an overall really good experience there.”

Right now she is focusing on the remainder of the season: She said: “I just hope to continue to improve throughout the rest of the season and stay injury free. I hope to also take home at least one state title this year to finish out my senior year.”