Butler distance runner Brewster opts for Duquesne
BUTLER TWP — By signing a letter of intent to continue her academic and running career at Duquesne University, the next phase of Ava Brewster’s life is set.
But she’s not done with the current phase yet.
The Butler senior owns the Golden Tornado girls indoor track and field records in the 1,600 meters at 5 minutes, 20 seconds, 3,000 meters at 10:46 and 3,200 meters at 11:23. She will spend this spring chasing the school’s outdoor records in the 1,600 and 3,200.
“The mile record is 5:06 and the 3,200 is 11:08,” Brewster said. “I know I’ve been close. In distance running, you can be 10 seconds off and eventually make up that difference because the races are so long.
“The longer the races, the better I feel.”
Brewster also considered Carnegie Mellon and Johns Hopkins before choosing Duquesne. Carrying over a 4.0 grade point average, she plans to go into pre-med in college.
“I wanted to stay close to home and consider the academic side, of course,” she said in choosing Duquesne. “They have an excellent program for my major and the cross country and track teams are very good. I feel like I’m getting the best of both worlds.”
Brewster added that she wants to contribute to the Dukes cross country and track teams as a freshman and eventually run the 10k.
Butler cross country coach Rick Davanzati lauded Brewster’s work ethic and determination on the track.
“She’s a great kid and a tough competitor,” Davanzati said. “Ava will continue to improve at Duquesne because she never stops working to get better. She takes nothing for granted.”
With good reason. During her sophomore year, Brewster contracted anemia and her running practically ground to a halt.
“I tried distance running in seventh grade and just fell in love with the sport,” she said. “My mom was a distance runner in high school (at Butler) as well. I got off to a good start, fell a few seconds short of qualifying for states my freshman year.
“Then I’m dealing with anemia (shortage of red blood cells to carry oxygen to body tissue, causing fatigue, weakness and shortness of breath) and I added two and a half minutes to my 5k time. I could barely run at all.
“I spent the rest of my sophomore year and junior year trying to catch up, to get back to where I was. Finally, my body feels like it’s in peak condition and I want to make the most of that this year,” Brewster added.
Jeff Gibson has been Duquesne’s coach for three years. His women’s cross country teams won two multi-team meets last fall and finshed second in two others. He’s had 10 athletes earn All-District Academic honors.
Brewster may be primed to join that list.
“Duquesne is the perfect fit for her,” Davanzati said. “It’s a solid Division I program and the academics and athletics suit what she wants to accomplish.”
Being able to attain a Division I scholarship after battling physical setbacks — she also fell and broke her arm early in her junior year — means a lot to Brewster.
“I knew I was going to run again, I just didn’t know how well,” she said of coming back from anemia. “I still ran with my broken arm, but it hindered me somewhat. Yeah, getting this opportunity at Duquesne is special to me.
“I plan on taking full advantage of it.”
