Manitowoc Lutheran Girls and Boys Cross County Coach Abbey Bubolz has often said she’s lucky to get a front-row seat to watch senior Brooklyn Luebke run cross county.
Brooklyn has been at the state meet the past three years and has stood on the podium every time, finishing no lower than 5th place.
She was the Division-3 state champion last fall and her time marked the 2nd fastest time in D-3 state history.
Luebke has won 18 races in 3-years, including being a conference champ 3-years in a row.
Bubolz says it’s been fun to watch her grow as an athlete.
“Running sometimes seems simple, but there’s a lot more to it,” the Coach explained. “That’s been really fun to watch her progress and learn race strategies from her sophomore year to her senior year. Now, it’s been fun to watch her adjust, depending on how the race goes. She’s made a lot of improvement in that aspect, due to her hard work and wanting to learn.”
Brooklyn on how she’s progressed since her freshman year when she competed in volleyball.
“I’ve learned different things from different sports,” Luebke explained. “Being in volleyball made me realize I had a greater love for cross country and running. You just learn to run and keep going.”
Luebke is called a student of the sport by her coach, while Luebke called it a dream and said “in track my freshman year I was like I like to win. And then I went out for volleyball and it didn’t suit me. And then running cross country and winning and being around different types (of) people, it’s rewarding.”
Bubolz explained to Seehafer News that she’s had to urge her athletes, like Brooklyn, to cut-back on their workouts at times.
“She will do whatever it takes to get to the level she has,” she said. “Sometimes I need to tell her don’t run on the weekend…you need a break. And that isn’t the case with everyone.”
As for competing at the next level, Luebke said, “I was a little uncertain if I wanted to run in college but now that cross country is over and basketball is started, I realize I really miss running and it’s something I want to do in college.”
Bubolz on it taking a special person to be so admired that she actually got an award from another school in the Big East Conference.
“St. Mary’s Catholic has “Zephy’ awards and so they gave out an award to Brooklyn because she helped one of their athletes’ pace during Track Sectionals,” Bubolz explained. “So, at the state meet, the coach came up to her and she had an award at their banquet. Abbey added that’s the first time I’ve ever seen that happen.”
The daughter of Scott and Julie Luebke of Maribel is playing basketball for the Lancers this winter and wants to run track next spring.
