Brooke Jaworski Ready To See What She Can Do At Penn Relays

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

It was late spring of 2018 when Brooke Jaworski found herself soaring over the hurdles for the first time.

Without much training, the junior from Wausau West High WI relied on her speed, athletic prowess and eagerness to learn to rapidly rise to the top of the high school 300-meter and 400-meter hurdle rankings in a little less than three months.  

A year later, the more mature and experienced Jaworski is set to race the 400 hurdles for the first time in 2019 at the 125th Penn Relays (Thursday, 10:20 a.m.). She aims to find out what year's worth of event-specific training looks like.  

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"Having last year only being my first time competing in the hurdles, I had a lot to work on," she said. "I kind of ran with what I could do last year, but this year (there is) definitely more technique, more execution of the race, just perfecting what I can do best, that's the main thing."

Jaworski is coming off a tremendous 2018 on the track. A versatile athlete known for her sprinting ability, Jaworski found she had more than just a knack for the hurdles.

Along with her Wisconsin state 400-meter dash title, Jaworski claimed the regional, sectional and state 300 hurdle titles. She finished the season with a personal-best time of 41.40, the fifth-fastest time in the country.

In June, she jumped up to the 400 hurdles at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships and took second place to qualify for the IAAF World U-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.

In Finland, she finished seventh in the final. Her best time of 57.57 in the semifinal round made her the fastest U-18 hurdler in the world.

"Definitely a life-changer," Jaworski said of her summer. "Having that be my first international-type competition, it was different than anything than I've ever done before. The people that I met, the things that I did there, it definitely gave me a new perspective on what the sport can be, and what I can do. I think that's really helped me grow as an athlete."

Since then, Jaworski, who is committed to run for the University of Texas this coming fall, spent time perfecting her craft.

In the fall, she built an endurance base by running cross country and placed 15th at the state meet. She worked with her dad, who trains her outside of the school, and competed in a few indoor meets.

"Over the winter I was heavily focused on hurdle technique," she said. "I would say I'm a much more solid athlete, definitely got a lot stronger over the offseason. I'm more in tune with my body with what works best for me, and what doesn't. I think this year will be better than ever."

Thursday, Jaworski will face some of the top hurdlers in the country, including current national leader Britton Wilson of Mills Godwin VA (59.45), 300-meter hurdles leader Leah Phillips of Bullis MD (40.82), Adriana Shockley of Western Branch VA and Vanessa Watson of Spencerport NY, whom she ran against last summer at U.S. Juniors. 

Phillips' former Bullis teammate, Masai Russell, won the the race last year in 58.49 seconds. 

"I just want to get a solid time in to see where I'm at," Jaworski said. "I'm ready to go and am really excited to see where I'm at and race against some good competition and in a very prestigious race."

While Jaworski said she never imagined herself running the hurdles the last half of her high school career, she's feeling much more confident in her abilities.

"I'm confident that I can run the race how I want it, but I also know there are a lot of great other qualified athletes that are just as good as I am. In the end, it's just a ranking. It doesn't mean anything until you put your words to actions."