By Hoyeon Lee, Woodbridge High School, Grade 10
June 16, 2011
Woodbridge High School senior Gabrielle Scott placed third place in the California State Championships in the 400 meters. At the CIF Division 3 Preliminaries on May 14, senior Gabrielle Scott was the top qualifier in the 400 meters and third place in the 200 meters.
“We’re very proud of Gabrielle,” track coach George Varvas said. “She won in the CIF Championships with her all-time best record and moved on to State.”
Scott’s record time of 54.73 for the 400 meters makes her the second fastest runner in Orange County history.
The Orange County Register nominated Scott for the Orange County boys and girls Athlete of the Year 2011-2012 Fan Favorite Award. Though Scott did not win first place, she received one of the greatest amounts of online votes.
“I’m very humbled,” Scott said. “This has been my best season so far and I hope to continue the streak in college.”
Scott will continue her education at Harvard University, where she hopes to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. She dedicates her success to the support of her parents, coach and friends.
“There were a lot of seniors on the team this year,” Scott said. “I think we all wanted to end the season strong and all of us improved a lot.”
On Monday, June 6, Scott was honored as one of the eight Woodbridge Scholar-Athletes for 2010-2011 at the 38th Annual Irvine Senior Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet. Each of the four high schools in the Irvine Unified School District nominated four pairs of students and Scott was nominated in track and field.
Scott’s fellow track athletes say they see great hope in her future.
“Gabrielle’s going to do great in college,” hurdles athlete Kyndol Craver said. “She practices every day and always tries her best, so I’m confident I’ll see her in a big sports match in five years.”
