Eagan High School Freshman Topples School Track Record During Breakout Meet

Eagan High School sprinter Maddie Gourley was moments away from starting her 400-meter finals race at a conference meet last week when she sliced her finger open on the cleat of her shoe.

The cut wasn't deep, Coach Rob Graham recalled, but the distracting injury could've proven fatal for Gourley's race results.

What happened next, however, stands out in Graham's memory. "I could see frustration going over [Gourley], and then I saw calm and readiness coming back," said Graham, who watched from the stands as race officials treated Gourley. "The girl walking back over to the track was a whole lot different."

That focus is one reason why Gourley, a ninth-grader at EHS, is already making a name for herself on the school's girls track team.

At that same conference meet, held on May 21 and 22, Gourley broke a school record with her 12.23 time in the 100-meter dash, logged a 59.05 time in the 400-meter event and took first place in the 200-meter sprint—finishing a full second ahead of her nearest competitor.

The meet was a breakout performance for Gourley, who was named the a Prep Athlete of the Week by the Star Tribune. Gourley comes from a family of runners and has risen through the ranks of the Eagan Athletic Association to her place as one of the high school's athletes to watch. But her first year running for EHS she suffered an ankle injury and sat out much of the spring and summer.

The freshman spent much of the abbreviated 2013 season rebuilding and working with older runners Emerald Egwim, Kat Torres and Rachel Wall.

“That was my first meet that I felt I was back to where I used to be," Gourley said of the conference meet last week. "I felt like it took me a while to get back to my form, because I took so much time off it."

On Thursday, the girls track team competes in the sections on May 30 at Lakeville South High School. Gourley hopes to improve upon her 100-meter time and finish in the top two in each of her three events, which would qualify her for her first state competition.

It's rare for a student as young as Gourley to perform at such a high level, Graham said. But Gourley, he added, has a strong competitive drive and the poise of an older athlete. "She is strong, and she is a competitor," Graham said. "She doesn’t say too much, but I can tell from the look in her eyes that there’s a fire."