As she walked down the homestretch, Alivia Henkel made a sign with her right hand and raised it toward her parents in the bleachers.

It was the universal sign for “I love you”, a sign that bares emotional weight and significance for Henkel and her family. It was the symbol emblazoned on signs and T-shirts worn by students and supporters over two years ago, when Henkel, then a senior at Rochelle Township High School, suffered a life-altering cardiac arrest during the winter.

Henkel, who spent several weeks at Loyola University Medical Center recovering from the medical emergency, lost her senior basketball and track seasons and was unsure she’d ever be able to compete in sports again.

So as she paced the homestretch after a record-setting victory in the 400 hurdles at the NCAA Division III National Women’s Track & Field Championships last month, Henkel fully embraced the moment.

“The only thing I could think of was the #Luv4Liv T-shirts everyone made while I was in the hospital during the basketball season,” Henkel said. “I threw up the ‘I love you’ sign because it was really important to me and it was a reflection of how far I had come from that point to now. It was really cool. ... I definitely think the Lord was working.”

Representing North Central College, Henkel broke the 60-second mark for the first time in her life during the preliminary race, where she ran a 59.99 to qualify for the finals. Not only did she break a 22-year-old CCIW record, as well as her own school record, but Henkel became the first athlete in school and conference history to earn a sub-60 time.

“Someone got a picture of my face when I saw the clock because I thought there was no way,” Henkel said. “It was so fun to be a part of that competition and to get our there, chase people and run my race.”

As impressive as her preliminary performance was, nothing could’ve prepared her for what came in the finals. Henkel, a sophomore for the Cardinals, had been lowering her time throughout the outdoor season. But after her record-setting preliminary race, she somehow managed to push further beyond in the finals, where she was seeded seventh.

“I was in Lane 7 and for a while, the stagger hadn’t been broken yet,” Henkel said. “It was surprising that I was in the front. Coming off the last curve was when I realized I was the first one over the hurdle. I didn’t realize I was going as fast as I was. It was a crazy feeling.”

Out-sprinting the field over the last 100 meters, Henkel separated herself and crossed the finish line in first place. A national champion for the first time, Henkel achieved a new record time of 58.65, the fifth-fastest time in Division III history. She became North Central’s first national champion in the 400 hurdles since Patsy Cargill in 1994.

“Getting over those last two hurdles, I couldn’t believe it,” Henkel said. “I just told myself to run as fast as I could. I was so nervous I was going to die at the end, but I kept going. That was a big shocker. I’m used to coming off that curve and having to chase a little and I was expecting that for finals. I was in front. That was a little crazy.”

Steve Wiesbrook, North Central’s men’s and women’s hurdles coach, knew she was destined to win after he saw her clear the eighth hurdle. Wiesbrook, who admitted he was lost for words after seeing Henkel’s final time, credited both her confidence in hurdling, and her ability to adjust quickly without losing top speed, for her growth in the event.

“I knew she was ready to run faster than she did in prelims, but I never imagined her taking almost 1.5 seconds off her prelim time,” he said. “The story of her journey is incredibly inspiring, especially for anyone that has to deal with setbacks - whether or not they are an athlete. She has been able to keep her long-range goals in focus, even when not being able to train. She finds the positive in whatever cards she has been dealt and uses those to set intermediate goals.

“She exemplifies the thinking that there are many different ways to achieve your desired results, and each of them are going to require hard work. You might have to re-define success, and the work on your new path might look different than that on your old path or on someone else’s path, but if you do the work that is needed, success is almost certainly within your reach.”

The championship victory capped off a strong sophomore season for Henkel, who’s healthier than she’s been in years. Slowed by numerous injuries in high school, which included a concussion from basketball, a stress fracture from track and her cardiac arrest, Henkel suffered a sprained ankle and missed the indoor portion of her freshman season.

More scarily, Henkel had a second cardiac episode in October 2024. But an internal defibrillator, which Henkel had surgically implanted in her body after her first cardiac incident, worked to perfection, kicking her heart back into rhythm. She had a full offseason to train for her sophomore year, where she set multiple new personal-best times.

“It was the most healthy I’ve been,” Henkel said. “There were some weeks I had to take off from weird aches and pains that eventually went away. ... Coming into this year, I still had a little bit of foot and ankle pain, but we worked through that. I had a full indoor season and pretty much a full outdoor season. ... It all worked out in the end.”

Henkel established collegiate personal bests in the 100 (12.50), 200 (25.60), 400 (57.58) and 400 hurdles (58.65) during her sophomore year. She also competed on North Central’s 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams, helping the Cardinals win the CCIW outdoor title and earn CCIW indoor runner-up honors in the 4x400, an event Henkel has high hopes for.

“A big goal for me and my team is to race in the 4x4 at nationals,” she said. “That would be so much fun. I’m talking with my coach about potentially running the 400, 400 hurdles and the 4x4 at conference. I’ve heard it’s been done before, but not many people do it. I don’t get to race the open 400 too much, so it’d be fun to race in both.”

An applied chemistry major, Henkel is living and working on campus this summer. Her academic goals include attending medical school and studying cardiology. She’s currently enrolled in an EMT course with the goal of getting her EMT license before the summer ends.

“I’m excited about where Alivia can go from here,“ Wiesbrook said. ”With the semester having ended before the national meet, Alivia and I have not had the chance to talk about ‘down the road’. When we finally do talk about it, I’m confident she will set realistic goals, both on and off the track, and then do the work needed to meet them.”