Brady Hawks, senior at Laingsburg High School (LHS), officially signed his commitment on Wednesday, April 29 to be a decathlete at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.
“Purdue was by far the best choice for me when it comes to academics,” says Hawks. “For someone who was looking into engineering, it’s hard to beat a technical college, not to mention one of Purdue’s size!
“I was thankful to have lots of options and offers for places to run, but none were as attractive as Purdue. I really saw Purdue as a place I wanted to be, a place I wanted to spend the next four years of my life, not to mention being a Division 1, Big 10 school makes it that much cooler!”
Hawks has been a very active student during his years at LHS. He ran varsity track and cross-country, played varsity soccer, and also played in concert, marching and jazz bands. He captains the FIRST Red Thunder Robotics team, participated in Quiz Bowl and Drama Club, was an exchange student to Germany, traveled to Spain with the international club and is a Shiawassee Scholar. He keeps a 3.9 GPA with many AP and college prep courses.
On the track, Brady was all-state and academic all-state in Division 3 last year in the 110 meter hurdles. He placed 11th in the nation at the 2018 USATF (USA Track and Field) Junior Olympics in the decathlon. He has several years of first- and second-team all-conference and all-county awards and has qualified each of the last five years for the Playmaker’s Greater Lansing Honor Roll meet. He is a 2020 CMAC Senior Scholar athlete.
James Garnham, assistant track and field coach at Purdue, commented, “I am beyond excited to have Brady commit to Purdue University and its track and field team. Like all collegiate and professional athletics, all aspiring high school athletes had their winter and spring seasons cut short. This spring, athletes like Brady will not have the chance to run for a league, regional, state or national championship. Missing out on those opportunities is very difficult; it takes kids and coaches out of their ‘normal’ routine. Eventually, that routine will be back to a ‘new-normal.’
“When the time comes this fall, Brady will be walking around Purdue’s campus knowing that he has a bright future as a Boilermaker track and field athlete. I know that he is going to work harder than ever, push himself to new levels, accomplish new heights and distances and ultimately be a scorer in the B1G. His drive and commitment to do many extracurricular activities will help him focus on becoming the best decathlete he can become. I want to welcome your family to a new family…the Boilermaker Family!”
Hawks adds, “I have absolutely loved my track career at LHS. There really is nothing like competing and training with your friends. Every meet was so much fun, being able to watch my teammates go do what they do best and cheer them on is a great feeling. Coach Borgman always makes it easy to find your interest; he supports everyone and never tells kids no. He was definitely one of the reasons I was able to take an interest to so many events in track, and I am so grateful to him for helping through it all.”
Laingsburg’s head track coach, Brian Borgman says this about Brady’s high school career: “In terms of a kid who is well-rounded, I can’t think of a student who has done so much over his four years…and doing it at such a high level is a testament to Brady. I will be lost without him next year, as we could have put him in any of the 17 events and he would have done great. Purdue is getting one special kid.”
