St. John’s sprinter Brooklyn Chestnut aspires for senior year success
Senior sprinter Brooklyn Chestnut completed all her courses for graduation at the end of the fall semester, but she’s enjoying taking electives this term so she can finish her collegiate track career at St. John’s University with a flourish and graduate with her friends this spring.
So far, the indoor season has been a little challenging, but she’s trying to appreciate the journey. After three years of hard work and living through the strict confines placed on student-athletes during the pandemic, she hoped this year would be smooth. “When it came to starting my sophomore and junior seasons, it seemed like everything came very easy,” Chestnut said. “But now I’m starting to push my own boundaries, so that’s a little more challenging going into this season.”
One of Chestnut’s big hopes for the St. John’s track and field team is to win the Big East outdoor title. Personally, Chestnut wants to win the 60-meter race at the Big East indoor championships. Achieving her goals will take training, strength and the right mindset. “It would be so special to me to finally get on top of that,” she said.
This coming weekend, St. John’s will compete at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston on Friday and Saturday and then head to The Armory for Millrose Games on Sunday.
With Millrose not having a 4×200 relay, Chestnut thinks her role at Millrose will mostly be that of spectator. She’s stoked to watch the pros compete, like high jumper Vashti Cunningham and 60-meter competitors Dina Asher-Smith, Julien Alfred, and English Gardner.
“I’m excited about the energy, the angst of seeing everybody preparing,” Chestnut said. “It’s such a nice scene for everybody to be excited about people running.”
A biology major, Chestnut said it has been challenging, but having other science majors on the track and field team as well as other student-athletes has made it easier. “Part of it is the community,” she said. “Having other athletes that are bio majors, we can help each other, study together and take classes together.”
Chestnut is relishing the Red Storm team spirit across all sports after the quiet and lack of crowds during the pandemic. She enjoys young athletes approaching her at meets to ask about the path to college. “It’s been monumental and so warming to experience,” she said. “It’s been super fun.”
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