Emerald Ridge track phenom Gero-Holt kicks off busy summer with Brooks PR Invitational at UW

Even down time isn’t down time for JaiCieonna Gero-Holt. Which is just fine with the Emerald Ridge freshman.

“Something I recently learned about myself, I like being busy,” Gero-Holt said. “This may sound weird, but that feeling of being overwhelmed? I like that feeling, and how it feels to accomplish all those things afterwards.”

Not three weeks removed from winning two state Class 4A titles, in the high jump and 100 hurdles, Gero-Holt is set kick off what promises to be an incredibly full summer schedule of meets and events. First up is the Brooks PR Invitational on Wednesday at the University of Washington, where Gero-Holt is scheduled to be the only Washington state representative in the 100 hurdles.

The field the Emerald Ridge freshman will face at the Brooks meet is set to include four girls from across the country that have run sub-14 second times already this year – Jaiya Covington from Texas (13.42 seconds), Rylee Hampton from Texas (13.69), Aleesa Samuel of Florida (13.73) and Taylor McKinnon out of North Carolina (13.78). All are faster times than Gero-Holt’s best this spring of 14.49.

“I thought it was a great opportunity,” Gero-Holt said. “I look forward to competing with a few girls that are faster than me.”

Two other local athletes have confirmed participation at the Brooks PR Invitational. Bellarmine Prep’s Ella Borsheim will compete in the two-mile race, while Esther Akinlosotu from Federal Way is part of the 100 meters field.

The Brooks event is only the beginning of what could prove to be a big month for Gero-Holt. On Thursday, she will head to Eugene, Oregon, where she will compete in the hurdles and the high jump at the Nike Nationals June 16-19.

A week later, the stakes get even bigger as the Jaguar looks to secure a spot on the United States U-20 national team. That meet also will happen in Eugene, June 23-26.

The event slate differs slightly at the U-20 meet, where Gero-Holt will still do the high jump but also will compete in the heptathlon. It will be the second time this year that Gero-Holt has competed in that seven-event, multi-event this year.

“She broke the national freshman record at the state multi-event championships,” said Mike Strong, her coach.

Strong will have Capital pole vaulters Amanda and Hana Moll also competing for spots on the U-20 national team two weekends from now.

Gero-Holt scored 5,108 points in the heptathlon at state over the first weekend of June, just a week after winning her two state high school championships. She accomplished the record despite competing in the high jump portion of the heptathlon during a pouring rain that kept her jump height down.

“I lost a lot of points in the high jump,” Gero-Holt said. “When you jumped into that pit, it was like you’d jumped into a pool of water. Getting soaked going over the bar, then carrying that weight was not an easy thing to do.”

“We believe she’s going score better this summer,” Strong said.

Her goals remain a fluid thing, Gero-Holt said. And a lot of her summer direction will be determined at the U-20 meet just over a week from today’s Brooks Invitational. If she makes the U-20 national team, there will be far fewer local meets but more training to prepare for the World meet that begins late in July in Columbia.

“Even if I don’t make it to Worlds, it’s not the end of the world,” Gero-Holt said. “It’s still an opportunity. Each time I go into a meet, I want to be better than at the last one. I go in with a monster mentality, to stay positive. If the goal is not yet achieved, I get with my coaches to make the revisions to accomplish that goal.”

It’s an 11 months of the year endeavor, Gero-Holt says. But even during that month each year where she is not competing, “that month off is still track for me.”

Even down time isn’t down time, after all.