CSUN’s Brookes Makes Tracks for Strong Recovery

Heather Brookes has come a long way in the past year. Brookes, a Cal State Northridge junior from San Diego, finished sixth in Wednesday’s 10,000-meter final in the NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championships at Angelo State University, earning All-American honors.

At last year’s championships in Cape Girardeau, Mo., Brookes finished a disappointing 14th. But that was not the worst thing to befall her.

Northridge Coach Don Strametz recalled the hot, humid day in southeastern Missouri. “After the race Heather had to be wrapped in wet towels and taken to the hospital because of heat exhaustion. She was in pretty bad shape because of the heat . . . it took her quite a while to recover,” he said.

Strametz thought Brookes had accomplished a great deal just by competing in Wednesday’s race.

“I think it’s a great mental victory for her,” he said. “It was something that really affected her and that I think she had to work hard to overcome.”

Brookes agreed: “It was definitely on my mind. I thought about it before the meet and I was thinking about it as we got ready to run.”

But the weather in west Texas was far different from what many people expected--temperatures in the low 70s with a cool, southwesterly breeze. The race was not what Brookes expected, either.

“I thought there would be more of a group in the race and I had thought about trying to run in the group,” she said.

Instead, the 11 runners in the field found themselves almost immediately strung out.

“I really didn’t have a plan to run the race other than in the pack, if I could,” Brookes said. “I don’t think it matters. I just wanted to run and focus on the person in front of me and go by one person at a time.”

That technique worked. As far back as 10th at the 7,000-meter mark, Brookes climbed back into the race and finished in 36 minutes, 59.8 seconds--28 seconds faster than the stadium record.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of what Heather accomplished,” Strametz said. “Just to be able to win the mental battle to come back a year after what she went through in Cape Girardeau says a lot about her character.”