Rohach Honored for Two-Sport Strength

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Lauren Rohach didn’t find much use for the weight room during high school.

Rohach figured she got enough functional work done during practices for volleyball, basketball and track and field at Moorpark High.

But once Rohach arrived at Cal Lutheran, she realized it would take a more intense training plan to be a multisport athlete at the collegiate level.

Rohach has managed to keep her body in prime shape to balance the demands of volleyball and track and field at CLU.

The junior’s efforts were rewarded last week when she was named an All-American Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

CLU football player Chris Cabrera was honored on the men’s side.

“It was exciting because I feel I have been kind of working hard and staying dedicated,” Rohach said. “It’s nice after three years to be noticed for something like that. I definitely take it more seriously now than I did at first.”

After helping CLU’s volleyball team capture the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in the fall, Rohach has extended her run of success on the track.

She set a school record in the long jump last month with an NCAA qualifying mark of 18 feet, 9¼ inches. Last week, Rohach helped Cal Lutheran’s 4x100 meter relay team break the school record with a winning time of 47.87 seconds.

“Lauren is one of those special athletes that very rarely come around and into your program,” CLU track and field coach Matt Lea said. “She is an incredible person to work with. Her personality and attitude on and off the track are what I aspire all my athletes to be like. She carries herself in such a way that her teammates are always looking up to her.”

In setting the program’s long jump record, Rohach edged CLU teammate Kendall Sauter (18-1½).

“It was really just a matter of time before me or Kendall broke it,” Rohach said. “We’ve both been pushing each other every single week, so the camaraderie on the team as well as the competitiveness is really nice.”

Rohach has managed to excel in track while still juggling offseason volleyball workouts and academics.

“I have been working with the coaches about cutting down on some workouts so I am not as tired,” Rohach said. “I think there is an understanding between the coaches now that if I want to do big things in both sports we have to cut down a little bit of the time. It’s pretty much day by day on how my body feels.”

Rohach believes switching from outside hitter to middle blocker in volleyball has benefited her in track.

“I think jumping all the time might have something to do with my marks improving,” she said. “Overall I am getting stronger physically and mentally knowing what I can do even on a semi-bad day. I think it’s just been a growing process with my body and the mental aspect of track.”

Cal Lutheran will be participating in the SCIAC Championships in Los Angeles on April 26-27. Then, the Regals are hoping to have a large contingent traveling to the Badger State for the NCAA Championships on May 23-25.

“Everyone wants to go to Wisconsin,” Rohach said. “We talk about it every day at practice now. We just have to keep getting better every single weekend and keep our rankings up.”