By Olivia Baratta ’16 | Staff Writer

Two incredibly talented South track stars just put their talent to the test at the New Balance Indoor National Championships at The Armory in New York City.

The New Balance National Championships lasts three days and  features the top high school runners from around the nation, said Track And Field Coach Steve Zaranek. There are three divisions at the meet: Freshman, Emerging Elite and Championship.

Jazz Brathwaite ‘14 has been speeding down tracks across the nation since she was only six years old.

“I started playing basketball when I was two, and my parents told me I should try another sport, so I picked track and I just kind of fell in love with it,” Brathwaite said.

When Brathwaite first started running, her main event was the 400 meter dash, and when she was only eight years old, she was a member of a national record breaking team in that event.

Training for an important meet like this takes a lot of hard work, perseverance and pain Brathwaite said.

“It wasn’t easy,” said Brathwaite. “I took a lot of times where I had to push myself because I know I want to be the best that I can be, I know it takes hard work and  pain. I just try and think when I work out, pain is temporary and pain won’t matter when you are number one.”

In New York, Jazz ran the 200 meter dash in just 25.78 seconds, her Indoor Track personal record. Brathwaite felt ready to endure the race, but when she heard about her lane assignment, she was instantly nervous.

The Armory has a bank track, which means that all of the lanes besides lane one and two are on a slope–both lanes a slight disadvantage.

The runners in lanes one and two do not get to run downhill while the other runners can. One and two must run flat for the entire race.

Runners are usually not allowed to use lanes one and two for most college meets who use bank tracks.

“When I first got out, I was catching up to everybody and then everything was getting closer,” said Brathwaite.”By the second curve everybody was coming downhill at me and then the next thing you know its just over, it was quick.”

Despite the fact that she was in a tough lane, Brathwaite said she had a lot of fun and running at this meet was a very good experience.

Brathwaite’s biggest supporter is her dad and personal coach, Kevin Brathwaite. Not only do they have a good coaching relationship, but their father-daughter bond is very strong.

“He knows my limits and what my body can do and he pushes me no matter what, always motivates me and never lies to me,” said Brathwaite.

The advice that Jazz’s father always gives to her is to always smile, and he thinks that her start and overall strength are her biggest strengths to her running, Kevin Brathwaite said.

“I’m most proud when I see Jazz accomplish things she didn’t know were  possible and pushing herself past boundaries that seem insurmountable,” said Kevin Brathwaite.

Otherwise known as “Ms. Speedy,” Ersula Farrow ‘15 is a mid-distance runner who also competed for her second year in a row at last weekend’s New Balance Nationals.

Farrow said she has been running since she was seven years old and her first race ever was a Cross Country meet at Cass Benton where she ran two miles, and ever since that race shes loved the sport.

After attending middle and elementary school in Farmington Hills Michigan, Farrow moved to Grosse Pointe for her freshman year.

Just like Brathwaite, Farrow was originally a 400 meter dash runner, but her dad and personal coach, Erskine Farrow had her experiment with other events, and she then found the 800 meter run.

When training for this meet, Farrow did a lot more speed work than she usually does, but still worked in distance as well.

“I started training for New York about three weeks before the meet,” said Farrow. “I had to do everything right during those weeks because I knew everything had to be on point.”

In New York, Farrow ran her fastest indoor time in her main event, the 800 meter run. She placed second in the nation finishing with a 2:08.

Farrow felt good going into this race, she was nervous but knew that she could not get overly nervous if she wanted to stay focused.

“When I got out there I just did my best, I ran my hardest and I was happy,” said Farrow.

Farrow also ran a 57 second 400 meter dash in New York, but Coach Zaranek recommends that event as a “tune-up” race to get her ready for the 800 meter run.

“If you plan on coming to this meet in the future you really have to train for it because there is a lot of competition,” said Farrow. “The best of the best people are here, its a lot of pressure and you have to be able to handle it.”

Farrow’s mom, dad and older sister are all runners, and when encouraging Ersula, they tell her to “never give up, because you never want to feel like you gave anything less than 110 percent,” Farrow said.

Farrow and Brathwaite both plan on running in college, and have both been recruited by many schools.

Since Farrow is only a junior, she has not yet started to narrow down her options, though Brathwaite’s top three school choices are the University of Florida, University of Southern California and Ole Miss.

Both girls dream of becoming Olympians some day, and plan on training hard to achieve their goals.