Colorado University Athletics
CU's Scott Takes Aim At NCAAs
May 15, 2019 | Track and Field, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado senior Gabby Scott can look back now at her first-ever hurdles race and smile.
At the time, however, she couldn't manage much more than a grimace.
Scott, who now holds the CU 400-hurdles record (56.82) as well as the school's open 400 marks (indoor and outdoor), made her hurdles debut as a college freshman at the Texas Relays.
It was, she says with a laugh, a less-than-resounding success.
"For starters, the Texas Relays are intimidating as is, never mind that it's my first race," Scott said this week. "Big crowd and I'm out in lane 9, way out there all by myself. I really didn't know what I was doing. I just kind of ran — stuttered and jumped over a hurdle for 10 hurdles. It was definitely something to remember."
Scott finished that first 400-meter hurdles race in 1 minutes, 6 seconds. If you're doing the math, that's 10 seconds slower than her current personal best — and a virtual eternity in the event.
But she persevered. In her very next race, she shaved four seconds off her debut time, and over the next few years steadily improved under the tutelage of hurdles coach Burke Bockman.
Now, Scott has a legitimate chance of becoming the first-ever CU woman to advance to the NCAA Championships finals in the event. Currently holding the fifth-best time in the nation, she will run next week in the NCAA West Preliminary meet in Sacramento, Calif., with an eye on advancing to the June 5-8 NCAA Championships.
If she can advance to the championships, she will finish her CU career in Austin, Texas — on the same track where she made her college hurdles debut.
"Now I use that first race as an example to show younger athletes not to be afraid of trying something new," Scott said. "I can show them how I improved and and use it to encourage other people to keep at it and keep working."
Scott has firmly imprinted her name in the CU record books. She owns the school records in the indoor 400 (52.34) and outdoor 400 (also 52.34), as well as the outdoor 400 hurdles (56.82). She broke the records previously held by Leona Russell, who established the marks in 1996, and she is also part of CU's record-setting 4x400 relay team. Her seventh-place finish earlier this year at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the open 400 made her CU's first-ever All-American at the distance (indoor or out).
"It was a great feeling," Scott said of breaking records that were set before she was born. "First the indoor 400 record, then the 400 hurdle record by the same woman. That was kind of cool. Having your name in the record books really makes it fun."
Scott was a successful quarter miler at Westview High School in San Diego when she was recruited to Colorado, and she chose CU for several reasons — not the least of which is that it offered her a chance to pursue an excellent business degree.
"I was pretty average in high school but I felt I was finally coming into my own — what they call a late bloomer physically," she said. "It offered me a chance to grow, a place where I wouldn't be a really small fish in a big pond. When I came here, I absolutely loved my visit. The mountains were beautiful, the campus was great and it's only a 21/2-hour flight from home. And at the end of the day, it was the Leeds Business School that made the biggest difference. I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur and explore different business opportunities, and I knew Leeds offered that opportunity."
When Scott arrived on campus, Bockman had just taken the job as CU's sprints and hurdles coach.
"I knew she had zero experience in the hurdles, but with her build — long legs — it was something we thought we should try," Bockman said. "That freshman year she went through a lot of ups and downs, and I'm sure there were times we were maybe doubting it. But she kept working and her improvement has been amazing."
Scott admits there were some frustrating moments, especially early.
"I had to learn next to girls who had been running hurdles for years," Scott said. "But I was open to it because I wanted to be good at this level and it has definitely paid off. Now, Â I'm seeing athletes I wasn't even close to in my freshman year that I'm even with or beating."
Scott also believes her relative late start means she has yet to hit her ceiling. After she wraps up her CU career, she plans to move back to San Diego and continue training, with an eye on next year's Olympic Trials and the 2020 Olympiad in Tokyo.
"I think I have a lot more to give," she said. "I joke with Burke that I have yet to have a race where I crossed the finish line and said, 'That's all I have. That was everything.' I think coming in late, I have so much more to grow and that's what makes it exciting."
But now, with graduation in the rear-view mirror (she earned her business degree), her only focus is on the NCAAs.
"Now it's just taking it one race at a time," Scott said. "Every one could be my last race in a Colorado uniform. So take care of regional prelims, take care of finals and getting to nationals is definitely the first step. I'm fourth in the region and top 12 go, so it should be smooth as long as I have a good race and take care of business."
Then, if all goes well, she will head to the NCAA Championships.
"Nationals — do the thing," she said. "Take care of it again in prelims and get to the finals. I finished seventh in indoors and hopefully I can finish a little higher in outdoor."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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