Gophers women’s indoor track and field is the only program in the Big Ten with three different Athlete of the Week award winners this season.

Graduate transfer runner Brooke Jaworski, senior thrower Shelby Frank and freshman thrower Annie Nabwe have broken school and conference records on their way to winning the award. Frank and Nabwe were invited to participate in the NCAA DI indoor track and field championships starting March 7. 

The Gophers are currently ranked No. 24 in women’s indoor track & field with 37.35 points. 

Brooke Jaworski

Jaworski was awarded the Big Ten Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week on Feb. 7 after breaking Minnesota’s 800m indoor record with a mark of 2:03:48 at the Meyo Invitational. She also won the 600m at the Meyo Invitational. 

“After breaking the Minnesota 800m indoor record, I was very proud,” Jaworski said. “It was a goal I had before even coming here.”

Jaworski is in her first season as a Gopher, previously running for the Texas Longhorns. Raised in Wisconsin, Jaworksi decided to transfer back close to home for her graduate year. 

“I was always a little homesick,” Jaworski said. “I thought if I have this opportunity to move on from this place after getting my degree, I want to give Minnesota a second shot.”

Jaworski said Minnesota feels more like a team than when she was in Texas, while the change of scenery allowed her to be more vocal and to grow as a person.

“I’m in a leadership position, I’m able to flex those leadership muscles in a way that I wasn’t able to at Texas,” Jaworski said. “Obviously [breaking the record] was a great accomplishment … but I’m more proud of where I’ve come and the ways I’ve changed.”

Jaworski missed the rest of the indoor season after suffering a non-invasive lower-body injury. According to Jaworski’s father, Jim, the Gophers coaches and doctors told her the goal was to be healthy for the start of the outdoor track season.

Shelby Frank

Frank ranks No. 1 in the weight throw in the Big Ten with a mark of 24.09m and No. 3 in the nation.

Frank earned her second Big Ten Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week of the season from her performance on Feb. 3 at the Gopher Classic. Her conference-leading mark won the weight throw and, at the time, placed her more than two meters ahead of the next athlete. 

Frank’s first Big Ten Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week of the season came from her 23.36m throw at the Jack Johnson Classic. She won the competition’s weight throw title and later became the first thrower to win the award for the Gophers since her performance at the Big Ten Championships in February 2023.

“It’s a great recognition and it’s fun,” Frank said. “At the end of the day, I just want to do what I can do and have fun doing it. If that doesn’t come with a reward then that’s okay, but it is nice to receive those things, but I don’t really work towards those things.”

Annie Nabwe

To end the indoor regular season, Nabwe broke the NCAA freshman record for the weight throw at the Snowshoe Open with a mark of 23.02m.

“I didn’t know I was going to break it,” Nabwe said. “The goal at the beginning of the season was 20 meters, and 23 [meters] shows that I have so much potential and can do more.”

Nabwe was awarded Big Ten Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week after the Snowshoe Open. Nabwe said she finds her first award to be a good stepping stone for her future.

In the Big Ten Indoor Championship, Nabwe broke her recently-set record along with winning the Big Ten weight throw title. Her mark of 23.36m ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 4 in the nation.

“It does mean a lot because it shows you are one of the top competitors and also gives you confidence to keep building,” Nabwe said.