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How first-generation college student Gretchen Hoekstre paved her way to success with BYU track and field

If dealt with the right way, setbacks can be used for something positive. Such is the case for Gretchen Hoekstre, a thrower on BYU’s track and field team.

Hoekstre (pronounced "Hawks-tree") is a first generation college student.

“My parents are my biggest supporters,” she says. “They come to every meet possible. My dad told me, ‘Either go to college or join the military.’ They never had that opportunity.”

The senior shares how she first got into track and field.

“My weight lifting coach told me, ‘Try throwing, give it a shot, I need one practice out of you,’” she said.

It only took one try for Hoekstre to decide she was in love with the sport.

BYU Thrower Gretchen Hoesktre. Photo courtesy of BYU athletics

The Seaside, Oregon, native received multiple offers from but ended up choosing BYU.

“I clicked really well with the coach here, that was a big deal,” Hoekstre says. “I had a really strong feeling that this was where I needed to be; something I had never felt in any other visits I took.”

Different sports offer different challenges. Baseball requires exceptional patience. Basketball requires careful teamwork. But running — or discuss throwing, for that matter — is all about the individual.

“I love the individual sport aspect, being able to push myself,” says Hoesktre. “If I have a bad meet, thats on me; if I have a good meet, no one can take that away from me.”

She holds the BYU school record in the discus with her throw of 57.04m/187-2 at the 2024 NCAA West Preliminary Round. Gretchen shares why that is special to her.

“The top ten board is outside the track office. When I took my visit here, I knew I wanted my name up there,” Hoekstre recalls. “That happened by sophomore year. … It was so surreal. Every amount of sweat and tears and injuries was worth it.”

BYU Thrower Gretchen Hoesktre. Photo courtesy of BYU athletics

Speaking of injuries, Hoekstre had no easy road. She missed a portion of her sophomore season due to overworking her body and tearing her pectoral muscle. Her dad cautioned her that her body would "take a break for [her], and you won’t like the way it gets done."

But that wasn’t all. Hoekstre had a high ankle sprain with torn ligaments in February 2022, prompting surgery. She also dealt with a bulged disc in November, and a stress reaction in her shin just two months earlier; the latter of which was a grade three.

However, despite the barrage of medical setbacks, Hoekstre prevailed. On what message she would give to aspiring student athletes, she said, “Why not you? Just because someone is bigger or stronger does not mean you don’t have your strengths.”

What does it take to accomplish something great?

“Someone who is willing to put in the effort to get to next level,” says Hoekstre. “I would rather fail at something than not try at all or look back and wonder ‘what if.'”

Hoesktre is a strong example of hard work for others.

“Gretchen is one of a kind,” says Lia Katoa, Hoesktre’s teammate, a Junior from Layton. “She’s someone I look up to and try to be as good as one day. There’s nothing better for an athlete than surrounding yourself with people who are better for you, and that’s Gretchen.”

BYU Thrower Gretchen Hoesktre. Photo courtesy of BYU athletics