Running on Faith
BUTLER TWP — When her legs balk and she feels like she can't take another stride while on the track, Chesna Tomko leans on her strong faith.
The Butler freshman sings hymns to herself as she runs as a source of strength.
“I'm raised in a Christian home and Jesus is what I live for,” Tomko said. “He's why I'm alive. All that keeps me going when I'm running is I'm not doing this for myself. I'm doing this for God. It's so much pain. Jesus brings me through it. It's definitely what holds me up and gets me through it.”
Tomko also has a healthy share of God-given talent.
She showcased that this year for the Golden Tornado, which won the WPIAL Class AAA team title.
Tomko made a huge impact.
She was a part of all three relay teams for Butler — the 400, 1,600 and 3,200 — and also ran the 300-meter hurdles.
Tomko advanced to the PIAA Track and Field Championships in three events and came home with two state medals in her first high school season.
“We knew she was good coming out of eighth grade,” said Butler girls track and field coach John Williams, “but to be on the state stage, that's a welcome surprise.”
Tomko ended up in the top spot on the Butler Eagle Track and Field Honor Roll in all four events she competed in this season — the three relays and the 300 hurdles.Her time of 45.21 seconds in the hurdles was eye-opening for a freshman.So was her performances in the relays.“We're digging this 300 hurdle time — 45.21,” Williams said. “She's been 2:15 on her splits in the (3,200 relay). Can she be a sub-2:10 kid? Can she be a 43-something in the hurdles? When you start talking those numbers, you start talking state championships, or placing at the state meet for sure.”Tomko, though, would much rather run as part of a relay than on her own.She's been doing the hurdles since junior high and ran the open 400 during the indoor track season, but there's something about running with three others that satisfies Tomko more.“It's a lot more fun to be able to share the experience with other people and share the burden,” Tomko said. “It's not all on your shoulders whether you win or lose. Just the team experience is a lot better than doing it by yourself. You're doing it for a cause and helping other people out.”Tomko has long been a runner.When she was in kindergarten, she ran the mile. She was instantly hooked.But even she was surprised at the mark she left on the Butler girls track team this season.“Before this year, when I was running in eighth grade last year, I thought anybody who ran below a 60-second 400-meter run was superhuman,” Tomko said. “This year, it's like, 'I can do that — and other people around me are doing that, too. This isn't something only Olympians can do.'“Being able to see what the human body can do, it's amazing,” Tomko added. “It's amazing how well we're designed by God and what He's enabled us to be able to accomplish.”Tomko, who is homeschooled, acclimated well to her new team, even though she admitted she was nervous about how quickly she would fit in.She soon discovered, however, a bond with her teammates and friends, especially the girls she shared the baton with in the relays.“We spend so much time together, I feel like part of the family,” Tomko said. “It was definitely a little scary coming in, this nerdy homeschooler — I don't know anybody. Everyone on the team is super kind and caring and nice and easy to talk to, so it wasn't half as scary as I thought it would be.”
