SHELBY – Jessica Jazwinski signed her national letter of intent to run cross country and track at N.C. State University, Monday, Nov. 18, becoming the second Shelby athlete in the span of four days to declare for a D1 college.
“This was a big decision for me because I’m super close with my family and N.C. State is very far away from (them),” Jazwinski said. “It feels like a (second) family to me down there, so that made the decision a lot easier. I knew I wanted to go there right away because coach Laurie Henes is one of the most amazing coaches I’ve ever talked to.”
Jazwinski has gone through a fair share of hardships in less than a year’s time. While enrolled in Hart Public Schools in 2023-24, Jazwinski had her junior track and field season cut short when she was diagnosed with mono. Forcing her to miss the state finals, Jazwinski focused on individual training in the offseason.
Unfortunately her clean bill of health didn’t last very long. Jazwinski then came down with pneumonia. Amidst struggles with illness, Jazwinski and her family made the move to Shelby Public Schools.
“I’ve definitely gone through a lot of struggles in the past year and there’ve been a lot of setbacks,” Jazwinski said. “I just feel that those make me stronger and they make our family stronger.”
Intent on competing for the Tigers in her senior year, Jazwinski was told by the MHSAA that transferring schools would result in her not being able to run in the fall or spring. With the move already decided upon, Jazwinski practiced with Shelby this fall, but was unable to suit up and race with her teammates.
“It was definitely a huge change. I’m very happy about our decision to move because Shelby has welcomed us so well. It means so much because we live in Shelby and it was hard to see (friends) that go to Shelby, but our family is not part of that district. Now to be a part of it, it’s great.”
Jazwinski will join the Wolfpack in Raleigh, NC for the fall of 2025. N.C. State owns a highly successful women’s cross country team that recently claimed their eighth-straight NCAA Southeast regional title.
