Brooke Sawatzky had her athletic career all planned out.
The Naperville Central senior recalls she was a soccer player not so long ago.
“I went into high school thinking I was going to go play soccer in college,” Sawatzky said. “I loved soccer. I had been playing it since I was a little kid.”
Sawatzky is going to compete in a sport in college, but it won’t be soccer. She has committed to Missouri women’s track and field.
Sawatzky joined Naperville Central’s girls track team as a freshman, initially as a means to stay in shape for club soccer as well as basketball, which she played during her freshman and sophomore years.
“I didn’t have the best experience with soccer,” she said. “It wasn’t the best environment for me to be the best athlete that I could, so it kind of pushed me to look for something a little different.
“I just fell in love with track — the people, the coaches, everyone on the team — and I decided to go all-in. So I quit playing soccer, I eventually stopped playing basketball and I really just focused on track.”
The results were astounding. Sawatzky capped her high school career by winning the Class 3A state title in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 8 inches and finishing second in the triple jump at 39-10 1/2 at the state meet at Eastern Illinois University on May 18. Both marks are personal bests and school records.
Sawatzky, who edged Neuqua Valley sophomore Olivia Dalson by an inch in the long jump, is only the third state champion in program history. She joins Casey Krueger, who won the 400 meters in 2007 and the 800 in both 2006 and 2007, and Kait McHale, who won the pole vault last year.
“It feels incredible,” Sawatzky said. “I never thought I would be (a state champion), and just ending my high school career on such a high was a really amazing experience.”
Based on preliminary results from the day before, Sawatzky was the top seed going into the finals and thus the last jumper. She still led going into the last round and realized she had won when Dalson came up just short.
“My whole cheering squad — my family, all my teammates and coaches — jumped up and were screaming and were so excited,” Sawatzky said. “It was just this wave of relief.
“I was so shocked because I never thought this is how my season would end. I couldn’t believe it was real.”
But Naperville Central coach Phil Allen wasn’t shocked to see that from Sawatzky, who also has school records in the 300 hurdles and 55 hurdles.
“The biggest thing with Brooke is she just works so hard,” Allen said. “That is what separates her from everybody else. She works hard when no one is watching to be great when everybody’s watching.”
Sawatzky’s workout routine includes regular weightlifting and sprinting as well as working with jumps coach Lauren Newtoff and hurdles coach Ryan Newtoff.
“You have to be really strong, so I spend a lot of time in the weight room, and speed is vital in any of those events,” Sawatzky said. “(Long jump) is such a powerful event. You have to be strong and aggressive, so I focus a lot on sprinting and just getting stronger.”
Sawatzky is fast and strong.
“She’s got that Division I mentality of wanting to work and be great,” Allen said. “She’s got a great build. She’s tall and long, and she’s very athletic and she’s very strong.
“She asks and begs for workouts all the time. She doesn’t need anybody to be there. I’ll be out on the football field in the fall coaching football, and she’ll be running repeat 200s and 150s on the track.”
Allen describes Sawatzky as “a trailblazer,” and that was definitely true this season, when she led the Redhawks to sixth place at state, the highest finish in program history. Teammate Liv Phillips, a Wisconsin-bound senior, finished second in the 3,200 in 10:34.27 and fifth in the 1,600 in 4:58.76. For fifth-place Neuqua Valley, Vanderbilt lacrosse recruit Zawadi Brown repeated as the state champion in the 200 with a time of 23.71 and was fourth in the 100 in 12 seconds.
Sawatzky will continue to blaze a trail in college, where she intends to try the heptathlon and the pentathlon for the first time. She intends to major in biology and hopes to become a doctor one day.
Yet Sawatzky will never forget her high school experience.
“I thought I was a better soccer player than I was a track athlete, but I was just drawn to the team culture and the sense of family that we have here at Naperville Central,” Sawatzky said. “All of the girls are really encouraging, and everyone is so motivated.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.