Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Week
Name: Brenna Cavanaugh
School: Bentworth
Class: Junior
Sport: Indoor track
Cavanaugh’s week: Cavanaugh won the long jump in the Pennsylvania Track & Field Coaches Association Indoor State Championship in State College. Cavanaugh reset the record she holds at Bentworth by hitting 19-7 1/4 to win the title. It beat her previous best jump by a foot.
Cavanaugh, who also competes in the outdoor season at Bentworth, won the state title by 5 ½ feet over Khyasi Caldwell-Adams, a senior from Pocono Mountain East. Madison Langley-Walker, a junior from Upper Dublin, was third at 19-1 ½.
Cavanaugh also qualified in the 60-meter dash and the 60 hurdles. She accomplished all this despite Bentworth not having a track.
“This is my second year of indoor,” said Cavanaugh, who qualified for the state tournament in the first indoor meet of the season at Edinboro. “I saw that a lot of my friends were doing it so I decided to try it because it looked like a lot of fun. I wanted to see what it was like and I wanted to do track all year round. It’s working out pretty well.”
Cavanaugh said competing indoors has advantages.
“It can be raining or windy or hot,” said Cavanaugh. “Indoor is different. They keep the temperature under control.”
Other local teams competing in the tournament were Canon-McMillan, South Fayette and Trinity.
Secret weapon: Cavanaugh would not think about competing without eating ice cream the night before the meet.
“It sounds silly, I know,” she said. “No specific kind. It just has to be ice cream. I’ve always done it.”
The ice cream is working. Cavanaugh was a state runner-up in the 100 hurdles at last year’s state outdoor championships. She was a state qualifier in the long jump as a freshman.
“A lot of people have helped me,” she said. “My coaches have taken me to a lot of different tracks and my dad has helped me a lot, working with me on my steps and got me into the jumping motion I wanted to be in. It helped me add two feet. My dad has really pushed me.”
Cavanaugh’s success is catching the eyes of recruiters, even though she has another school year remaining.
“I’m undecided right now on where I want to go and how far away,” she said. “I practice every day of the week. If I’m not at the track, I’m doing a pool workout. … I’m really excited for the outdoor season.”
Compiled by Joe Tuscano