Hurdler Marissa Saunders is 'a perfectionist who is very fiery and obsessed in a good way'

When Marissa Saunders learned she had a labral tear in her right hip, shortly after she placed third in the 60-meter hurdles in the 2021 Division I state indoor track and field meet, she burst into tears.

The Westerville South junior was devastated to find out she would need to undergo major hip surgery, and she was worried the injury would ruin her sophomore outdoor season — after the COVID-19 pandemic had already taken away her freshman season.

Saunders not only needed to have the torn labrum (cartilage) lining the rim of her hip socket repaired, she also needed to have the femoral head of her right thigh bone reshaped to prevent future impingement of the labrum in her right hip.

“I started having pain high up in my hipbone after making certain motions or after sitting for long periods of time, and it got to the point where I felt a painful pinch every time I went over hurdles,” Saunders said. “After one of my coaches noticed me limping, I got an MRI done, and when my dad told me (the results), I started crying because I wanted to keep running for my team.”

Saunders’ doctor cleared her to compete last spring, and she made the most of the opportunity, setting school records in the 100 hurdles seven times — including placing first in the Division I state meet in 14.05 seconds — to become the first member of her squad to capture a state title in 23 years.

And even after Saunders endured that major hip surgery on June 15, just 10 days after she stood atop the state meet podium in front of thousands of cheering fans, she quickly returned to form as one of the top hurdlers in the state as a junior.

Saunders capped a brilliant indoor season by winning the 60 hurdles (8.7) in the Division I state meet on March 4, after setting a new team record of 8.65 in a meet on Feb. 5.

And Saunders is enjoying a strong finish to her outdoor season, as she set a new team record in the 100 hurdles (14.02) in the preliminaries of the Division I district meet May 17 at Hilliard Darby. 

She placed third in the 100 hurdles (14.28) and fourth in the 300 hurdles (44.95) in the regional meet May 27 at Pickerington North to qualify for state in both events.

The state meet will be held Friday and Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus.

“What Marissa has been able to accomplish is special,” South track and field coach Jimmy Gaul said. “Marissa was limited as to how many meters she could race each week and as to what she could do in practice all of last season.

“But Marissa was able to manage the pain, and she never let her injury be an excuse or a crutch to lean on. Instead, she stayed focused on being excellent and elite and became a state champion.”

Even though Saunders’ comeback story has had a happy ending, she had to travel a long and frustrating road before returning to hurdling last October.

Saunders hobbled around on crutches for two weeks after the surgery, and she was not able to run for more than four months while her hip continued to heal.

“I didn’t really hurt much after the surgery,” said Saunders, who won a state title in the 200 hurdles as an eighth-grader and placed second in the 60 hurdles in the indoor state meet as a freshman. “The worst part was not being able to lift my (right) leg without help to get into a car, shower or bed. Some days it was hard to go to practice and see everyone running and hurdling when I couldn’t, but I learned from watching them, and I knew I was going to get better and return.”

Saunders credits her family, friends, coaches and teammates for providing her with an abundance of support while she made her comeback.

Marissa’s best friend is Gahanna Lincoln junior Camden Bentley, whom she trains with during the week. In last year’s Division I state meet, Bentley placed first in the 300 hurdles and finished second behind Saunders in the 100 hurdles.

“It’s important to surround yourself with good people who believe in you and are there to lift you up when you’re down, and a lot of people helped me stay positive and see light at the end of the tunnel,” Saunders said. “I was excited and nervous when I was cleared to start hurdling again, and I was so relieved when I tried it in practice and there wasn’t any pain.

“I’m really happy that I was able to win state before surgery, because no one expected me to win that race. And I was so excited that I was able to beat my PR (personal record) afterward, because it showed that my surgery didn’t stop me from getting better.”

Competing in athletics has been a major part of Saunders’ life since she began participating in gymnastics at the tender age of 4.

Saunders trained at Buckeye Gymnastics more than five hours per day, four days a week, while being homeschooled from second to fifth grade, and she excelled at the sport, moving up to Level 10 competition by the age of 10.

And even though Saunders no longer competes in gymnastics, she still coaches Level 2 gymnasts at Future Gymnastics Academy two to three days a week.

“I thought I was going to become an elite-level gymnast,” Saunders said. “But I developed a condition called the twisties, where I could no longer do backward flips or tumbles (without losing my sense of balance).

“I never even thought about running track when I was young, but my brother started doing it, so I wanted to give it a try in middle school, and hurdling came naturally for me.”

Saunders grew up with two excellent role models to look up to in her older siblings McKenna and Kaden.

McKenna, a 2018 South graduate, played softball at Colgate University before transferring to Ohio State to finish her degree. 

As a senior at South, McKenna had a .469 batting average and was first-team all-league, a team captain and her squad’s MVP.

Kaden, who graduated from South in December, is attending Penn State on a football scholarship. During his breakout junior season as a wide receiver at South, Kaden had 45 catches for 946 yards and 13 touchdowns in just eight games. 

The speedy first-team all-state selection also was recruited to play baseball by multiple Division I college coaches.

“I’d say we have a competitive sibling spirit, and they’ve been a big influence on me, because I’ve seen how hard they’ve worked to get where they are,” Marissa said. “Kaden and I have always been really close, and he even used to hold my blocks when I ran middle school track. Seeing all of the places Kaden got to go for college visits motivated me to work even harder to try to follow in his footsteps.”

Saunders, who has a 4.4 grade-point average, said her parents, Anthony and Sheila, instilled a strong work ethic in their children. Anthony works in the technology operations department for New Albany Plain Local Schools after retiring from the Army, while Sheila is the director of special education at New Albany Plain Local Schools.

“Our parents taught us to work hard to get good grades, and that’s translated to how hard we work in sports,” Marissa said. “They’re really supportive, and they’ve always told us that we should work hard and make sure we enjoy what we’re doing.”

Marissa said working with strength and conditioning specialist Eric Lichter at Plus 2 University and training with hurdling coach Jordan Rispress at Ohio Speed Academy the past three years has also made a huge difference in her rapid ascent in the sport.

Rispress won a state title in the 300 hurdles and placed third in the 110 hurdles as a senior at Hilliard Darby in 2009, before competing at Clemson (2009-11) and Ohio State (2012-14).

He was a member of two ACC champion 1,600 relay teams in 2011 (indoor and outdoor) and was a member of a Big Ten champion 1,600 team and was second-team All-American in the 400 hurdles and 1,600 relay in 2014.

“Marissa is very perceptive, and she picks up things faster than anyone I’ve ever coached,” Rispress said. “Marissa’s very intuitive in that she knows how her body moves in space, and she can feel when it’s out of place. She’s one of the top athletes in the country, and she has one of the best starts in the country.

“She’s a perfectionist who is very fiery and obsessed in a good way. A lot of kids are terrified of running against Marissa, but she’s so nice. She’s a goofball, and everybody wants to be her friend. She organizes fun events to bring the team together and keeps things fun for everyone.”

Lichter co-founded Plus 2 University, alongside former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones, who led the Buckeyes to the 2014 national championship, and was selected in the fourth round of the NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills.

As a speed and performance enhancement coach, Lichter has trained 30 athletes who went on to be selected in the first round of the NFL or NBA drafts, including LeBron James, Ted Ginn Jr. and Chris “Beanie” Wells. 

He’s also worked with sprinters who have gone on to compete in the Olympics.

“Marissa is very strong and coordinated, and her work ethic is tremendous, to the point where we almost have to force her to take days off to let her body recover,” Lichter said. “She’s matured a lot since her injury and is beginning to understand that the way to get better is doing quality work instead of just doing more work.

“There’s a stat that 80 to 90% of college runners do not exceed their high school PRs because they overwork their bodies. We believe that Marissa, if trained right, still has her best performances ahead of her, and she eventually will explode to become an NCAA champion and maybe even an Olympic runner.”

College track coaches have taken note of Saunders’ potential, and she is being recruited by many of the top programs in the country.

Saunders, who is interested in a studying sports management, will visit several universities in the fall and has dreams of competing in the NCAA Track and Field Championships.

But for now, the 16-year-old is focused on finishing this season with a strong performance at state. In addition to winning the 100 hurdles in last year’s state meet, Saunders also placed eighth in the 300 hurdles (46.71).

“I want to (beat my) PR in both hurdles at state, so I can keep progressing” said Saunders, whose personal record in the 300 hurdles is 44.4. “I’m really racing against myself, so if I PR in both events, it’s a win for me no matter where I finish.”