SLIPPERY ROCK — Anna Kadlubek was growing tired of the view.

It was unsettling at times for the Slippery Rock High sprinter to stare at the backs of her competition during the first quarter of the 200-meter dash.

She has more than made up for that shortcoming with a tremendous mid-to-late-race kick.

The next gear often carried her across the finish line with the competition staring at her back instead.

“I'm a very competitive person,” said Kadlubek, now a senior for the Rockets. “When I see people ahead of me, I go my hardest.”

Kadlubek has worked on not relying on that kick so much.

Better starts have been the focus in both the 200 and especially in the 100 where there isn't as much time for Kadlubek to close on the field.

It's still a work in progress, but she and Slippery Rock track and field coach Tom Meling are seeing improvement.

“One difference is she is not behind at the start anymore,” Meling said. “She's worked hard on that. She's not the greatest now, but she's running out with everyone instead of behind everyone.”

That seemingly small improvement has reaped major rewards for Kadlubek as she and the Rockets ready for the District 10 Track and Field Championships Saturday at Slippery Rock University.

At the Mercer County Track and Field Invitational Friday, Kadlubek shattered her own school record in the 200, finishing in 25.55 seconds.

“I didn't even realize it at first,” Kadlubek said of the scintillating mark. “When (Coach Meling) told me, I was like, 'Wait a second, I didn't run that fast, did I?'” It took me a second to realize I had. Then I was like, 'Oh my goodness, I just broke the record.'”

Meling said her time could have been even better had she been pushed more.

“The race was over after 100 meters,” Meling said. “That 25.5 could have been 25.2. This is the best she's looked in four years.”

Kadlubek hasn't just tried to improve her starts. She's also tried to hone her running technique to shave even more precious time.

When she is on the track, Kadlubek empties her mind.

“I don't think a lot when I run,” Kadlubek said, letting out a chuckle. “I'm just focused on finishing strong and moving my arms because my coach is very big on arm movement. He even says now I need to move my arms more.”

Kadlubek is definitely making a move on another record.

Her best time in the 100 is 12.39. The school record is 12.24.

“It's going to take that good race against some good competition,” Meling said of Kadlubek's chase of the school's 100 mark, which is held by Megan Stephenson. “She'll definitely get that chance.”

Kadlubek set some big goals for herself before this season.

After missing all of last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, Kadlubek had some catching up to do.

“I pretty much want to break any record I can,” Kadlubek said.

Slippery Rock had a busy schedule this spring — partly by design and partly by circumstance.

Kadlubek enjoyed the challenge of running against top competition in Western Pennsylvania.

“I mean, going against all these different girls from different schools and gaining that experience with all that good competition — it's been really great,” Kadlubek said. “I'm honored to have the opportunity to race against them.”

Meling said he hadn't necessarily planned on entered his teams in as many invitationals as they did.

“This year has been kind of a weird year,” the coach said. “I was afraid to turn down a meet and we ended yo with too many in April. They just kept popping up on the schedule.”

It was difficult to pass on meets because of the cancelation of the 2020 campaign.

“The first meet (this year), there was a feeling of sadness, I guess,” Meling said. “We had 18 seniors graduate last year and that first meet I thought about those kids who didn't get a chance.”

Kadlubek was lucky. She had another year. It still stung, however, to lose her junior season.

“Everyone was eager to have track start again. We all enjoy it,” Kadlubek said. “When we shut down for two weeks last year, I was still training. I was doing workouts hoping we would have a season, and then they told us we weren't. It was incredibly heartbreaking. I was very sad about it.”

Kadlubek will be sad again soon; her track career will soon come to a close.

Kadlubek, who finished her basketball career at Slippery Rock with more than 1,000 points, will play at Indiana (Pa.) University next season.

“It definitely hasn't sunk in that I won't be running track next year,” Kadlubek said. “I set a lot of goals for myself this year and I want to achieve as many of them as I can. I just want to go out with a bang and do the best I can to help my team get a district championship. We want to get that win for (Coach Meling) and for ourselves.”