This Hawaii track star is a natural, but she’s not afraid to ‘put in that work’ to excel

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Most every high school class has that one natural athlete where everything seemingly comes so easy.

At Mid-Pacific Institute, Destiny Look fits that description and this weekend, she’s closing in on a state championship in the 300-meter hurdles — a sport she only started two years ago on the fly.

“We kind of did it as a joke at first and then I was like, I kind of want to do this in a meet,” Look said. “I guess it kind of came natural. I did gymnastics as a kid, too, and I have these boards in my house I kind of walk over, so it was kind of just hurdle form already — walk over, bring your leg over, so I already had it in my brain.”

The problem is at that time MPI didn’t have a full-time hurdling coach or program, but longtime track coach Rick Hendrix trained himself up and could see right away, Look had it down.

“In the 100 hurdles, you three step in between every hurdle,” Hendrix said. “By the first week, she was doing it and just three-stepping. Most girls it’s either four or five step, but to be really good at it, you three step.”

Since then, Look has bolted off the blocks winning multiple ILH championships in the 300m and 100 hurdles, the long jump, and a school record in high jump.

“She has the speed and she has the endurance of a long-distance runner, which is a great combination,” Hendrix said. “You don’t see that too much.”

And track isn’t her only love as she’s excelled in soccer, cross country and basketball.

This past season, she tried out for the Owls varsity volleyball team, made the cut, and in her first year in the sport, won a state championship.

“I didn’t start, I wouldn’t play as much,” Look said. “I put in that work at practice and I showed them, I can play. Then I started building up, play a little more, help the team, it was just a fun experience overall.”

This weekend’s state tournament is only one event on a packed calendar..

Next month, she heads to Oregon for the prestigious Nike outdoor national tournament and then it’s off to Texas for the USA Track and Field Junior Olympics.

Her hope is to eventually land at a division 1 university with the goal of competing at the Olympics in the heptathlon.

“I usually just think I gotta go full out and it’s just me against the clock,” Look said. “Just always trying to cut down on those times and get a good time for a PR or something.’’

Given her knack for multi-tasking, she’ll be just fine.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.