Despite early uncertainty, Thief River Falls' Brooklyn Brouse proving to be one of the area's best track athletes
Jun. 16—When Thief River Falls' Brooklyn Brouse was a sophomore in 2019, she didn't qualify for the Minnesota state track meet.
The Prowlers were in their final season of Class AA that season.
Now a member of Class A, and coming off a canceled 2020 season due to the pandemic, Brouse was unsure about the 2021 season.
"At first, I was a little nervous because it had been so long," Brouse said. "Even though I trained on my time off and in the offseason, it was hard to gauge where other people in the section would be. It was nerve-wracking but at the same time very exciting."
As it turned out, there was little reason for Brouse to fret. The senior has put together one of the area's best seasons and possesses some of the top rankings heading into this weekend's Minnesota state Class A track and field meet. The meet begins in full Friday at St. Michael-Albertville High School. The 3,200 meters race will take place Thursday.
Brouse is seeded second in the 300 hurdles with a top time of 45.38 seconds. She's fifth in the 200 with a time of 25.82 seconds and she's tied for fourth in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 2 inches. Brouse also runs the anchor on the Prowlers' third-seeded 4x200 relay team.
"She's an incredible athlete," Thief River Falls coach Katie Nelson said. "She's one of those where I could put her in practically any event and she'd place high."
Brouse had concerns about missing her junior season.
"Not having that year really worried me," she said. "I knew this was my last chance. Your junior year is really a time to show off what you can do and get (recruiting) looks from different places. I knew I had to be ready for my senior year."
But college coaches took notice of Brouse's sophomore marks. She visited schools ranging from NCAA Division I to Division III. She signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in multiples at St. Cloud State.
"They had a good pre-law program and the coach was super-friendly," Brouse said. "The Division II level seemed like the right place for me. I want to focus on track and compete after high school but in the end it's about a career. This will allow some good competition but also enough time to put into my studies."
Brouse also competed in tennis, basketball and cross country for Thief River Falls.
"Her work ethic has been great, and she's one of the best leaders on the team this year," Nelson said. "It's not just sports, either. She's the top of her class and class president. She really does a good job balancing that and still competing at a high caliber."
Brouse has personal-best performances and school records in her sights heading to state.
"I would love to try to do my best in each event, which I know is a lot to ask, but I think my training is set up to do that," she said. "Our relay team is edging toward a school record. That one will be pretty exciting. In the hurdles, being ranked second is really exciting. I hope to maintain that spot and PR one last time before college."
Area top 8 seeds
Here's a look at some of the area's other top state track hopefuls.
Boys
4x200 relay — East Grand Forks, eighth, 1:33.30
4x800 relay — Thief River Falls, sixth, 8:22.97
200 — Noah Kiel, Crookston, third, :22.50
400 — Jory Vasek, Climax-Fisher, third, :49.95
300 hurdles — Blake Biermaier, TRF, seventh, :41.67
Mile — Tyson Mahar, East Grand Forks, fifth, 4:29.88
High jump — Zach McGlynn, West Marshall, fourth, 6-1
Pole vault — Gavin Gullickson, West Marshall, sixth, 13-1
Girls
110 hurdles — Breanna Kressin, Crookston, sixth, :15.98
100 — Ava Phrakonkham, Bagley-Fosston, fifth, :12.75
200 — Brouse, TRF, fifth, :25.82
300 hurdles — Brooklyn Brouse, TRF, second, :45.38; Emma Borowicz, Crookston, fourth, :46.12
4x200 relay — Thief River Falls, third, 1:47.08; Fertile-Beltrami, fifth, 1:47.53
4x100 relay — Bagley-Fosston, eighth, :51.71
4x400 relay — Fertile-Beltrami, second, 4:04.79
4x800 relay — East Grand Forks, third, 9:48.92; Thief River Falls, sixth, 9:52.93
High jump — Brouse, TRF, fourth, 5-2
