For the third straight year, Shelby senior Jessie Jazwinski made the trip to San Diego, Calif. to compete in the Foot Locker XC Nationals, Saturday, Dec. 14.
Jazwinski finished in 24th place overall with a time of 18:37.3 which was good enough to crack the top 10 among qualifiers from the Midwest Regional who were in attendance.
The 24th place finish is the lowest placement at the national competition for Jazwinski. In 2022 as a sophomore, Jazwinski finished in 11th with a time of 17:43.4 and in 2023 as a junior she finished 9th with a time of 17:45.9.
Those that finished ahead of Jazwinski included several phenomenal athletes who – like Jazwinski – are committed to run at the NCAA D1 level in 2025. Among them were Victoria Garces (Duke University), Zarriel Macchia (Brigham Young University), Sophia Bendet (Texas A&M University), Rosie Mucharsky (University of Notre Dame), Abby Faith Cheeseman (University of Virginia), Brooke Strauss (University of Connecticut) and Lilah Gordon (Penn State University). Jazwinski is a North Carolina State (N.C. State) University commit.
In a post to Facebook on her parents’ account, Jazwinski said: “This was not at all the senior season I had hoped for or expected. Not being able to compete with a team was quite the challenge, but this makes me appreciate my training partner (brother, Bobby Jazwinski). Thinking about my last high school cross country race, it definitely was not without struggle. Although it was nowhere near the outcome I was looking for this year, it makes me take a step back and appreciate the journey so much more.”
Jazwinski struggled to return to form after being denied eligibility to compete for Shelby High School by the Michigan High School Athletic Association. With her high school career coming to a close, Jazwinski has remained adamant that she’ll focus her efforts on being the best version of herself when the joins the Wolfpack next season.
