Woodward wants to leaving lasting impression

Vacaville senior, LSU signee motivated to break 2001 national high school 300-meter hurdles record set by Lashinda Demus

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

For the next 14 weeks, every time Vacaville CA senior Jurnee Woodward competes in the girls 300-meter hurdles, she has the potential to challenge the national high school record.

Woodward, an LSU signee, is the top returning 300 hurdler in the country after winning the California outdoor championship last year in 40.62 seconds, which ranks eighth all-time in the state and No. 10 in U.S. prep history.  JURNEE WOODWARD INTERVIEW

She is chasing the 2001 mark of 39.98 set at the CIF Southern Section Division 1 final by former Long Beach Wilson star Lashinda Demus, a five-time IAAF World Championship medalist and the 2012 Olympic silver medalist in the 400 hurdles.

“I’ve already ran 40, there is no reason why I shouldn’t,” Woodward said. “The only thing I can say is that I’ve memorized what the national record is, what time she ran and where she ran it at. I’ve recognized every aspect about it. I’ve watched the race and I’ve committed it to memory. Now I’m committing myself to that memory and I’m going to make a new memory.”

Woodward is scheduled to open her outdoor season Saturday in the 300 hurdles, along with the 100 hurdles and 200 at the Skyline Invitational in Oakland. She has won the 300 hurdles at the meet the past two years, clocking 42.59 in last season’s opener.

“It will come when it needs to come. I fell down and got back up and then went to (state) finals and ran (40.62) when it was supposed to be,” Woodward said. “So I don’t think I can predict or have a certain moment where I prefer it to come, just that when it comes, it comes.”

Unlike many of her peers who run only the 400 hurdles – including Union Catholic NJ senior Sydney McLaughlin, the national record holder at 54.15 – or balance their schedule by running both the 300 and 400 hurdles, Woodward prefers to concentrate just on the 300 hurdles in her final high school season before making the shift to the longer distance in college.

“This year, I should just be focusing on going out with a bang and defending my state title and the 400s will come when they come,” Woodward said. “That’s why I’m going to college to run the 400 hurdles. There’s no rush. Once it’s done (in the 300 hurdles), there’s no going back. I’m going to savor it.”

Woodward will have several opportunities against talented fields in prestigious regular-season meets such as the Texas Relays, Arcadia Invitational, Mt. SAC Relays and Sacramento Meet of Champions, before her postseason journey begins May 9. She will need to survive Monticello Empire League, Sac-Joaquin Division 1 and Sac-Joaquin Masters races in order to return to the state meet June 2.

“Last year, when I kept on running 41-low all season, my mom was saying, ‘It’s coming,’ and my coach was saying, ‘It’s coming.’ But it never came until it really counted,” Woodward said. “I don’t know if I want to peak at Arcadia because the state meet is the ultimate. It’s the final, it’s my last state meet. Of course I want to peak and do something crazy.”

Before she approaches Demus’ record, Woodward will first look to take down the Sac-Joaquin Section record of 40.57 set in 2012 by Fairfield’s Daje Pugh. Then, Woodward will look to become only the second high school female to eclipse the 40-second barrier.

“Maybe I’ll run 39 twice. Maybe I’ll just run it once,” Woodward said. “But let’s not think about not running it all.”