Senior Jason Wu shifts his feet, kicking up dust. At the edge of the track, his family, friends and coaches cheer him on. Wu will continue his journey in track and field at Claremont McKenna College. 

Wu was inspired to start track and field by his older brother. Though he originally competed as a jumper in middle school track and field, Wu discovered his love for sprinting and hurdling during the pre-season before freshman year. However, Wu struggled with changing his events as a freshman. Without proper experience in hurdling, he was disadvantaged. 

“He came in as a triple jumper and took on the challenge of trying something new and difficult,” track and field coach Bernie Ramos said. “During his freshman year, he was only able to compete in the 300-meter hurdles event, but after a full year of preparation, he was able to improve his technique and confidence to run the 110-meter high hurdles at the varsity level.”

Throughout high school, Wu worked tirelessly, attending almost every practice during weekdays and competing in tournaments during weekends. 

However, Wu’s constant practice put him at risk for injury. In his sophomore year, Wu injured his foot right before the Central Coast Section meet, preventing him from placing in the hurdling events. One year later, Wu suffered a hamstring injury, stopping him from competing in CCS altogether.

“You can get any injury from just running because it takes a big toll on your body,” Wu said. “This year, I’m aiming to get through the whole season without any injuries.”

Wu attributes his success to the support he received from his friends. His attachment to the sport and team drove him to continue track and field in college. 

“His work ethic and his strive to improve allow him to be a good role model for the team,” senior and teammate Joyce Li said. “People see him working hard, and that just makes the team environment more competitive, and makes people want to do better.”

At the beginning of his junior year, Wu began emailing universities in the hopes of being recruited for college. Claremont McKenna College was one of the first to reply. As a Division III school, it allowed Wu the room to balance his athletic and academic career. After visiting the campus, Wu applied early decision to Claremont McKenna and received an offer to attend this fall. 

“Since I’ve done track and field for so long, I wanted to use that opportunity to help me get into a better college and take that advantage,” Wu said.

On March 7 at the Rustbusters Invitational, Wu broke the meet record for the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 15.05 seconds. Wu hopes to end his senior year by attending the annual Arcadia Invitational this April. As he prepares to graduate, he’s excited to see the future of the track and field team and what they’re going to accomplish.  

“After watching the first few track meets this season, I can tell a lot of my teammates have the work ethic and talent to be great,” Wu said. “I think we’re going to go on a pretty good run for the next few years. When there’s a lot of experienced members, every year will just get better and better.”