Westmoreland high school notebook: GCC’s Corinn Brewer stands out in national decathlon competition

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, August 29, 2021 | 3:51 PM

Previous Next

Corinn Brewer wants to compete at the highest level of college track and field — and possibly beyond — so the senior at Greensburg Central Catholic is preparing herself now with high-level competition.

Brewer traveled to San Francisco on Aug. 21-22 to compete in the Women’s Decathlon Association National Championships at College of San Mateo.

Because there is no decathlon in the Olympics, some of the top female pro and post-college athletes looking to take part in the 10-competition event on a larger scale attend the national meet.

Brewer was sensational on a big stage, posting the best U-20 score ever at the national meet with 5,698 points.

She was one of only two high school athletes in the field.

“On the airplane, I got a text from someone setting up the meet, and they said I could possibly break the U-20 record,” Brewer said. “They told me what it was, and it got me thinking about it.”

A Division I college prospect, Brewer also finished second overall to a pro athlete, Jordan Gray of Ball Ground, Ga., who broke her own American record at the meet with 8,246 points.

The performance by Brewer does, however, come with an asterisk. Her excess wind average was higher than 2.0, so she did not officially break the record.

The news did not take the wind out of her sails, however.

“We were running the 100 meters and the long jump with a tailwind,” Brewer said. “It was ridiculously windy there, and it affected (times and distances).

“It was the first time I was doing the decathlon, and I am happy with how I did. There is more interest in the decathlon, and it needs to be in the Olympics and at the NCAA level.”

Brewer won the 1,500-meter run in 4 minutes, 59.57 seconds — the second-fastest U.S. women’s decathlon time and third-fastest in the world.

Brewer took second in the 800-meter run, third in the 1,600-meter run and second in the pole vault at the WPIAL finals last year and had top-10 marks in each event at the PIAA finals.

She competed at the USA Track and Field Junior Olympics at North Florida, in Jacksonville, earlier this summer and took seventh in the heptathlon.

She will run cross country this season at GCC.

Mike Brewer, Corinn’s father, said the hope is to get the decathlon into the Olympics in the near future.

“There is a strong worldwide movement to convert the heptathlon (seven events) to a decathlon since women compete in all the same events individually that the men do,” said Brewer, a track and field coach at GCC. “That is the last remaining event that is different between men and women. The women’s decathlon has been contested for over 20 years around the world and in the U.S. in an attempt to develop equality among the genders.”

Corinn Brewer hopes to make a college decision in the winter. Several Ivy League schools, including Cornell and Columbia, are recruiting her, and she has offers from Notre Dame and Virginia Tech.

Being that she is so versatile, different schools want her for different events. For example, Notre Dame wants her to pole vault, and Virginia Tech likes her for middle and long distance.

…

All-America for Fenton

Latrobe junior volleyball player Lily Fenton was selected as an AAU Academic All-American for the 2021 season.

She competed in the 48th AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships last month in Orlando, Fla., with the Revolution Volleyball Club 16U team out of Chambersburg. The team went 11-2 and won the Emerald Bracket.

Last WPIAL season, Fenton, was a first-team all-section player as a setter.

…

GCC still rolling

Greensburg Central Catholic’s girls golf team hasn’t lost its touch. Need proof?

How about a 95-stroke win last week?

The Lady Centurions (2-0) are loaded again as they pursue a seventh straight WPIAL Class 2A title. They carded a frightfully low score of 150 against Southmoreland at Pleasant Valley Golf Club as Meghan Zambruno shot 1-under-par 34, Izzy Aigner added a 36 and Ella Zambruno signed for a 38.

GCC also beat Class AAA powerhouse North Allegheny, 161-177, at Mt. Odin, as Megan Zambruno shot 3-under 34 and Ella Zambruno added a 38.

…

On the tee

Golf will be up first on the Westmoreland County Coaches Association fall schedule.

The girls championships are set for Sept. 9 at Champion Lakes Golf Course in Bolivar. The boys will play Sept. 10 at Latrobe Elks Golf Club.

…

He said it

“How good is Anna? It’s like getting the No. 1 pick in the draft. ” — Franklin Regional girls golf coach Kane Daignault on the Panthers’ talented freshman, Anna Qin.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Latrobe