Natalia Bohn, Salem’s track and field standout, cleared the hurdle from good to great during her junior year and used hard work and determination to reach the starting line of elite.

At the May 17 Division 1 Regionals at Livonia Stevenson High School, Bohn cleared a first-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles and ran runner-up in the 300 hurdles with personal-best times. Her 300 hurdles time of 46.10 seconds was a Salem school record. She also ran with her Salem teammates on the winning 4x100 relay and was on the third-place 4x200 relay.

Bohn finished ninth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.37 seconds at the Division 1 State Finals on June 1. She finished one place from All-State – it was so close (Utica Ford’s Rachel Ifezue was eighth with 15.14). She also placed 16th in the 300 hurdles in 46.64.

So, how did she get here?

“I was told freshman and sophomore year that I had the potential to be really good and I was told that several times by several different coaches and my dad,” Bohn said. “At some point I got tired of hearing that and I wanted to be really good, not just have the potential to be.”

So Bohn laced up her shoes and went to work.

“Soon after cross country I started weightlifting three days a week and then started speed and strength training three times a week,” she said. “In December, I continued three times a week at Optimus and added two times a week weightlifting through my school and sprint/endurance workouts with my track coach. I also raced in a few indoor meets during the winter. I just tried to do as many hard workouts as I could before the races started.”

One of those voices telling Bohn about her potential was Salem Track Coach Josh Scripko.

“She has had a tremendous transformation this season in terms of performance and results,” Coach Scripko said. “She spent the past off-season working her tail off and was our best sprinter this season.”

The Rocks have had a tremendous season in 2024. Salem finished in second place at regionals and in the KLAA Conference Championships – both to Northville.

Bohn has had plenty of highlights this year with one big one coming at the finish line of the 300 hurdles at regionals. It’s not every day you chase – and pass – history.

“I was seeded second with a 47.54 and the first seed (Northville’s Ashley Krahe) had about two seconds on me and my plan was to just go up hard and once she passed to just chase her to the finish,” Bohn said. “That’s exactly what ended up happening, and once I finished one of my teammates, Laura Parker, gave me a hug and Maeve Skinner was telling me I broke the school record.”

Natalia, 16, is the daughter of Eric and Nicole Bohn. She carries a 3.73 GPA in the classroom.

And while she still has a few more laps to go around the high school track, Bohn is already looking ahead to her future.

“I have started filling out recruiting forms and emailing colleges,” she said.

She wants to compete in college as well but first she has some big goals to chase.

“My biggest goal would be to break the school record and get a New Balance National qualifying time in the 100 hurdles,” she said. “Both of these are around the same time, the school record is 14.53 and New Balance is 14.58 so hopefully I can do both. And to overall have a really good season in my last year.”