Clinging to an unexpected lead, Josephine Rogers mind was scattered in a million different places going into the final event of the Section V Class C1 Pentathlon. And within 2:48 seconds, the worry was gone and Rogers was a champion, winning the event by a thin 21-points.

Her margin of victory was thinnest in all Section V Championship Pentathlon contests this year, male or female. Rogers finished with 2,160 points, some 21 points more than Kacey Sebastian (Haverling, 2139 points) and Wellsville's paid of Emily Stuck (2,085) and Clara Dean (1,756).

"I was really determined," said Rogers. "The hardest part is being in your head."

Rogers said her head was a busy place. Entering as the third-seed overall in the Class C1 Pentathlon field, the Midlakes Junior was ahead by about 80 points, and a finish within five seconds of the winner of the 800m run would lift her to her first Section V Championship - and the first for Midlakes since Kori Hughes won the Pentathlon in 2013. And, smell of the food being grilled at the concession stand at Haverling High School was awfully enticing.

And after a half-mile of work, all the worry and wonder would be replaced by bliss. Or, disappointment. Either way, peace.

"I was stressing hard. Really, I thought I didn't have a shot. I didn't want to know where I was placed," Rogers said. She knew she was up 80 points, but the top seeded athletes ran the 800m in 2:40. Rogers' best was 2:58. A tenth of a second is a point, so one second equals 10 points in the scoring. "I thought, there was no way to pull this off. Nerves and had to walk around."

"She would need to run the race of her life to pull this off, and she did," said Aidan Cort, the head coach for Midlakes Varsity Track and Field.

She mustered 10-second personal best in the 800, latching onto the heels of the faster lead pair and letting them help pull her to the fastest half-mile in her career. She ran a negative split, meaning her second lap was faster than her first. She finished third in the race, and banked enough points to hold off the higher seeds.

At the finish, all the stress and emotion of the day overflowed. She collapsed to the ground in celebration and relief, but still unsure if she had won. She was greeted by Cort and assistant coach Tyler Lantrip.

"I crashed on the ground. I saw Cort and Tyler, they said I won. I just laid back down," Rogers said.

The Pentathlon is a double-edged sword; a grueling day of activity that includes the 100m hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put and then the 800m run. Rogers struggled in the opening hurdle race, taking the track around 5:15 pm. She didn't run the 800m until close to 9 pm. Some athletes are fair in all the events; others train to be specifically strong in one or two disciplines, letting that success carry their overall production.

"Practice at one particular event can make you better," explained Midlakes coach Marissa Tyler, explaining that focused expertise can help in strategizing across the other events. "In pent, you do five events. Any other athlete through the day can do no more than four. So, it comes to consistency more than anything."

Rogers struggled in the hurdles. It was one of her better events typically, but something was off.

"It was not what I thought I could run. I was upset about that," she said. Her 19.4-second pass ranked her fifth.

"I remember seeing her after her hurdles. She was upset, 'oh no, it was not a great time.' Proud of her for rebounding from that moment," said Tyler. 

Next was high jump, which she won at 4-feet, 9-inches. She ranked fifth in shot put, throwing a personal best 21-feet, 5 1/2-inches. Sebastian had won hurdles, and was third in shot put. Rogers won the long jump as well, with a 15-feet, 6 1/4-inch leap. Sebastian was fourth.

"I am upset with long (jump). My first jump was close to 17 feet," Rogers said, noting the leap was wiped off the board after she was called on a line foul. 

"For her to win she needed to capitalize on her strengths in high jump and long jump," said Cort. "She fouled a massive long jump which would've given her enough of a cushion to put the meet away even with a poor 800. She got a safe jump in that still won the pent long jump by almost two feet, which pushed her into the lead."

"Having that adversity in the first event and to overcome it was huge, really inspirational," said Tyler. "You don't have to have your perfect day or in every part your day to come out on top."

That brought a hungry Rogers to the line for the 800, with points in hand and with Coach Cort, hatched a plan.

"Going into the 800 she needed to keep within 4-5 seconds of the girls who went in behind her because we knew the 2nd and 3rd girls behind her had much better 800s," he said.

"I had to be 5 second behind her to make sure we didn't risk too much," Rogers said. "Second lap felt really slow. I don't know how I ran a negative split. But, the straight away felt fast. I still didn't think I was close enough to her."

She also shared one of the perils of Pentathletes; she watched the final relays of the day and noticed she no longer caught whiffs of the burgers on the concession stand grill. 

"I was really hungry and every single meet they have burgers at the concession stand. I have not been able to get one all year. And when I am finally done, they are closed," said Rogers, laughing "I knew Taco Bell wouldn't be closed... 

"It was easily the best, ever."

Rogers inks her name among some of the top track and field athletes in Midlakes history. Kori Hughes won Pentathlon in 2013 with 2,386 points. Aubrianna Lantrip set the school record for Pentathlon, winning the 2016 Victor Invitational with 2,951 points. She holds several school records in track and field including high jump and hurdles, and went on to run for Iowa on a Division I scholarship. She now works at Oregon University. Other top Pentathlon athletes include Liz Maloney (2009) and Corrine Hughes, who scored 2,685 points in 2021.

"I think it's sunk in," she said.

She was recognized at the June Board of Education Meeting, and paraded through the school while being celebrated as a champion before final exams began. Rogers has a year left at Midlakes, and is looking at going into education while several local colleges and universities.