No more hurdles to conquer for River Ridge’s Josh Braverman

Josh Braverman has learned how valuable time is during his track and field career at River Ridge High School.

And not just the times he records on the track — where he’s a four-time Class 2A state champion — but the time he spends off of it.

Through deaths in his family, and other hardships during high school, Braverman has become stronger and more motivated to be successful at his craft.

“Life is really short,” Braverman said. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that. I value it.”

Braverman has made the most of his time at River Ridge. His senior year, he led the Hawks’ football team in receiving, and helped them reach the 2A state quarterfinals.

In the winter, he put in extra work in the weight room, which translated to three more track and field state titles. He won his first as a junior, becoming River Ridge’s 50th state champion.

Braverman, The Olympian’s 2016-17 senior male athlete of the year, spent most of the past two seasons as the top-ranked hurdler in Washington.

“Through adversity comes great reward, and he got it,” said longtime River Ridge track coach Phil Lonborg, who retired last year.

In River Ridge’s track and field record book, Braverman’s name and career bests are penciled in next to the 110 hurdles (13.99 seconds) and 300 hurdles (37.62). Neither of those figure to be erased any time soon.

“He’s made a stamp, he’s let everybody know,” River Ridge football coach Steve Schultz said.

Now, with 11 track and field state medals in tow, Braverman will head to the University of Iowa.

“I’m very lucky to have all of these awards and accolades,” he said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better senior season. All glory is to God, and I couldn’t have done it without my family and supporters.

“I’m truly blessed. I’m happy to be where I am and continue to get better.”

Braverman was always fast. He remembers growing up in Tennessee, running back and forth in his front yard, tossing a football to himself. In elementary school, he’d challenge anyone to a race down the sidewalk and back.

“I was always competitive growing up,” Braverman said.

He moved to Lacey permanently when his father, a physician’s assistant in the Army, was stationed in Washington.

Braverman entered River Ridge as a sophomore, and his talent didn’t go unnoticed. When he turned out for track, Lonborg tried him at the hurdles, an event he hadn’t run competitively before. There were some growing pains.

“We started from scratch,” Lonborg said. “We thought he was a kid who could fall in love with both hurdles (events), so we had to train two different ways. That’s tough on a sophomore.”

They worked on mechanics, Lonborg said, tried to turn him into a robot and developed consistency.

 

Braverman placed in both hurdles events and the long jump at the state meet, and entered his junior season as an early favorite to win a pair of state titles in the hurdles.

His times dropped quickly, and Braverman headed into the Oregon Relays in Eugene — a meet he competed in twice, and won a 300 hurdles title at as a senior — full speed ahead.

But, his focus was sidetracked when four members of his family passed away in a short period of time.

“That really threw everything off,” Braverman said. “At that time, I was plateauing as well and I was getting bored with (track). I was just going downhill.

“I started to turn toward God, going to church more and getting my head right with him. It really helped me.”

Braverman said dealing with the losses helped him become stronger mentally and more mature. He started to think of his family members when he ran.

“I just thought they were watching me from a different set of stands that were higher up,” Braverman said.

Last May, he won his first individual state title in the 300 hurdles and reached the podium in all four of his events his junior season.

Braverman said he learned to be a better teammate, and started focusing more on that as a standout on River Ridge’s football team last fall.

 

“He’s taken advantage of his talent and he’s grown up,” Schultz said. “His mental maturity has really changed.

“His physical ability, we always knew that was there and it would develop, but just that mental growth (has been big).”

He was a second-team Olympian All-Area selection as a receiver, averaging 23.7 yards per catch and 16.2 yards per carry. He started both ways for the Hawks and finished the season with eight touchdowns.

“Just because of the threat of one play (turning into) a touchdown, defenses had to bracket him,” Schultz said.

Schultz said Braverman could have played collegiate football in addition to running track, but was glad Braverman chose the path he did.

With renewed excitement, Braverman breezed to a state title in the 110 hurdles this season. He added his second consecutive title in the 300 hurdles a day later, and anchored River Ridge’s winning 4x100 relay team.

“You look back on those magic moments you had,” Lonborg said. “When you look in the mirror or lay on your pillow, those are what you reflect on.

“I told him, ‘Nobody can ever take that away from you.’ ”

Braverman said he’s excited to continue his career at Iowa, and wants to get his degree in medicine and become a physician’s assistant like his father.

Lonborg said he knows Braverman will continue to grow as an athlete and a person.

“You get a guy that’s hungry and he’s going to rock ‘n’ roll,” Lonborg said. “That’s what college is all about.

“Josh is going to do well. I’m excited for him. The kid you see now isn’t going to be the same kid in two years.”

This story was originally published June 21, 2017 at 9:22 PM with the headline "No more hurdles to conquer for River Ridge’s Josh Braverman."