To say High School North senior Pati Dziekonska is leaving behind a legacy with the Knight track team is an understatement. The runner and jumper has set countless school, meet, and county records and, last season, became the first female individual champion in school history with a first-place finish in the 55-meter hurdles at the Meet of Champions. She tied the nearly 30-year-old 55-meter hurdles record at the 2012 Mercer County championships.
She has continued her winning ways throughout high school and recently captured sectional titles in the 55-meter hurdles and 55-meter dash.
Dziekonska — pronounced “ze-coin-ska” — said she knew she might have a special career ahead of her toward the end of her freshman indoor season.
“I didn’t know where I placed in sectionals, but I made in to groups,” she said. “I thought that was pretty cool. Then I made it to the Meet of Champions, and I thought, ‘Hey, this is pretty cool, too.’ I placed sixth as a freshman. That really opened my eyes.”
Head coach Monica Biro knew the program was about to gain an invaluable asset before Dziekonska even got to North. “When I saw her in seventh and eighth grade, she could three-step right away,” Biro said, referring to the number of steps taken between hurdles. Most beginning hurdlers take five.
Dziekonska, whose family moved from Poland to Lawrenceville in 2000 and then to West Windsor in 2001, initially started as a distance runner but tried the hurdles for the first time at a meet and was instantly hooked.
“I did it every time after that,” she said. “I like that it’s not just straight running. It’s all about the rhythm and technique. You hope for a clean race, but anything could happen.”
She acknowledged that there’s always a chance of tripping on a hurdle or losing her footing, but blocking that out is an important part of the race. Biro said that is one of the main reasons Dziekonska has had such a prominent career.
“What I really love about her is that she learned how to control her nerves,” she said. “It’s so hard for so many people. You can only control what you can control. You can’t worry about the person next to you. I never knew how to control that. She does get nervous, but we always say ‘excited.’ I think I get more nervous for her than she does for herself.”
Dziekonska is also an accomplished long jumper and runs in the 55 dash, 100 dash, 200 dash, 400 dash, and relays — she will try anything once. Dziekonska’s father works in construction, and her mother works for Vanguard. Her sister is a senior environmental science major at Rutgers.
Pati recently verbally committed to Indiana State University, where she will run truck and major in exercise science. ISU won out over Ohio State and Penn State.
“It’s exciting,” she said. “I think about it every day. I’m so thankful for my coaches. Track has given me so many opportunities for the future. I don’t know where I’d be without it.”
