Brewster trades jitters for all-state medal

Originally published on June 4, 2009 by Bill Pemstein in the Grayslake Review.

Grayslake Central freshman takes 8th at the State Meet.

This was unlike any track meet Will Brewster had seen before.

"It was like a huge football game," Brewster said.

"I had so much adrenaline. I couldn't wait. I was so antsy for the race to begin."

Huh? It was this Grayslake Central High School freshman's first varsity state track meet and he couldn't wait to get started? Wasn't he supposed to be scared on such a big stage?

Evidently not. Brewster is known as a pacer. He won't out-run anyone in the 3200-meter event, but he'll stay with the pack for days.

So, how was that first taste of state competition? Pretty darn good, as Brewster placed eighth in the IHSA Class 2A meet with a time of 9:49.96 in the 3200.

"My goal was 9:40, but with the heat and the wind, time was out the door," he said. "I thought my time was pretty solid."

Central coach Brent Pitt was pleased with his freshman's performance.

"Freshman all-state," Pitt said. "He did what he had to do. That's not too bad for a freshman. I don't think we've had a freshman do this before. He's a great kid to have in the program."

Brewster took a moment at the state meet to take it all in.

"My goal was to finish in the top nine," he said. "After it was over, I thought, 'Wow, I'm all-state.' I was about to collapse out there because it was so hot (85 degrees)."

Brewster reflected on the time he spent during the winter getting ready for track season.

"I played basketball," Brewster said. "So I would get up at 5 a.m. to work on track. I worked hard all winter to train for track season."

Meanwhile, Jeremy Bethke's final high school run produced an 11th-place finish in the 800 (2:03.17). Fellow senior Kendall Smith was 12th in shot put (49-4.5).

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