Brooke Owens signed to run track at Christian Brothers
University. That sentence alone is a
great accomplishment. Signing to run
track in college can be a tough choice for one, but also a tough task to come
true as well. If you talk to one of
Brooke's coaches, they will tell you she's had to go through quite a bit -
injuries, transferring, you name it. I
can relate to transferring, that can be a tough thing to handle in high
school. Injuries are also something that
dedicated athletes have a hard time coping with. But Brooke persevered through those and stuck
to the sport and ended up just where she wanted to be - on the path to continue
track in college!
This Bartlett senior currently holds several school records, including the indoor and outdoor 200M and the 400M. She's also a part of the record holding SMR 800 and 4x400 relays at the school. As any coach knows, you don't need a super star to help make a relay team thrive and perform well above any one individual's ability. When you have athletes on a relay team that believe in their ability and can gel with their teammates, a lot can happen. That's just what happened last year with the Bartlett 4x200 team. They set the school record with their 1:43.88 performance that was set during the Section 4 meet. According to Bartlett's coach Nebo, that was a 34 year record these girls broke. That spots that relay team in the top ten for the state (9th actually!). Brooke was a part of that record setting relay that just added another notch to the record list on this athletes resume.
Track athletes are always fighting to beat the odds. For some, it's not always the top or first choice as the sport of their preference. Sometimes though it is, and in the case for Brooke, it certainly appears she's made quite a mark on her high school coaches. Brooke has tried just about every distance from the 60M to running a 2:30 in the 800 last season, so we'll be watching close to see what she'll be doing this spring. And no doubt, she will excel in college as she has in her high school track career!
See you on the track!