BELLINGHAM, Wash. --- Monika Gruszecki was the first Western Washington University female student-athlete to win multiple individual National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II national championships, doing so in the javelin as a track & field competitor.
 
Gruszecki won her first national title in 2007 as a freshman, then was the national runner-up in 2008. After two years attending The Philipp University of Marburg in Germany, she returned to Bellingham to claim a second national crown in 2011, with a throw nearly 18-feet further than in her first win.
 
Gruszecki's story began in 1987 when her parents immigrated from Poland to Germany to escape persecution by the Soviet Union and to seek a better life for their unborn daughter. They arrived in Hamelin, West Germany that summer, Germany still being divided following World War II, and Monika was born in December.
 
As tensions escalated in Germany, the family decided to leave everything they knew for a second time and make the journey to America, specifically Seattle. Monika was 22 months old.
 
"We faced many hardships, we were basically struggling as a young family," Gruszecki's mother Kathy explained. "We didn't know any language; we had to learn it and find jobs and just sustain ourselves. With a little help from family and friends, we were able to raise a child."
 
Gruszecki was born a Polish citizen because of her parents' status. The family applied for American citizenship shortly after their arrival in Seattle. Despite the difficulty in making a home in a foreign country, Kathy Gruszecki said that she's always felt welcomed in America.
 
"The refugee status of Poles in Germany was a bit unwelcomed — similar to how it is in Syria right now," Monika Gruszecki said. "There just wasn't that level of acceptance at the time. (My parents) wanted to go to a country with more opportunity and asylum."

Growing up, Gruszecki all but ignored her Eastern European history. But now, more than ever, it seems to have helped her realize her own talents and identity.

"As a kid, you just want to blend in," said Monika, "so I hid it (Polish citizenship) from my friends. I wish that I had the courage then as I do now, but it was hard growing up with."
 
Gruszecki was a Tomboy in her early years. And she always wanted to throw things.

"Throwing has always fascinated me," said Gruszecki. "Actually, it was the wonder of launching things far -- whether that be kicking a soccer ball, throwing rocks into the ocean, or any other projectile."

"As a child, my favorite pastime was throwing rocks at the beach with friends. We'd challenge each other to hit targets and it would light me up when I could throw further or be the first to hit the target before the boys. Something about that tickled me and perhaps it was braggadocious, but that's how kids are - always trying to one-up each other."

At Meadowdale High School in Edmonds, Gruszecki competed in soccer, wrestling and track and field.

"Originally, I was a long jumper and short sprinter (in track)," said Gruszecki about her high school years. "Then the coaches organized a practice day where the whole team rotated through all the events, just to try out the new events now offered in high school that weren't previously available in middle school (i.e. high jump, javelin, discus).

"My first throw I launched the javelin with total ease, and the coaches turned to me and said, 'You have a knack for this.' I practiced javelin from that day forward."

Throwing, particularly the javelin, and competing became an obsession for Gruszecki.

"Throwing for me was an act of curiosity even though I couldn't articulate that at the time, but I would spend endless hours practicing," she recalled. "What's more, I loved competing. That same spirit of beating my buddies in rock throwing would awaken when I competed in track meets and I would come alive with energy. After a short while, that energy evolved from competing against others to a fascination with beating the tape measure, constantly challenging the tape to read bigger and bigger numbers. And that was the hook.

"The love of throwing became more introspective when I started competing in the javelin throw because there the implement was such an enigma. When the throw was clean it was effortless. A good throw is like a smooth golf swing, or chord on a guitar strummed just right. Timing and effort come together in a perfect moment where a magical throw launches the spear with smoothness and ease. I would sit back and watch it float crisply far away from where I stood. But, when something was off, then the javelin would plummet violently, as if in disapproval."

Following high school graduation, Gruszecki took a trip to Bellingham to look at Western as a place to attend college. A big attraction for her was the school being just an hour away from the Mount Baker ski resort.

At Western, Gruszecki continued to compete in track and field and as a freshman, to the surprise and amazement of most, she took the NCAA II national javelin title.

"It was pretty surreal," she recalled. "I didn't grow up in an athletics community at all. I did sports and I was allowed to participate in sports as long as my grades stayed up and my parents didn't have to drive me anywhere.

"And so when I came to Western, I wasn't really aware of the importance of a lot of what I was doing. At nationals, my coach (Pee Wee Halsell) just told me to go out and do what I do best and that's exactly what I did. So when I won the national meet as a freshman, I would credit that to not having any concerns at the time and fewer expectations. I was just 19 years old and just along for the ride and having fun. It wasn't until later that I realized the significance of what I had accomplished."
 
The next year Gruszecki was the national runner-up.

However, on the trip back from nationals, Gruszecki informed her coach that she was going to Germany for school with the idea of living there permanently as nearly all her relatives resided there or Poland. In Germany, she attended The Philipp University of Marburg from 2009 to 2010.

"Actually, I went to Germany on an exchange trip in 2006 and maintained a vibrant friendship with those friends, so when I went to visit in 2007 it was with a keen interest in learning German fluently, and enrolling in university there. I believed that I was moving back to Europe for good, but transferring credits became a complicated ordeal and after a year I decided to return and complete my degree at Western."

It was a choice she would not regret.
 
Making her return seamless was how Halsell had originally reacted to her leaving for Germany. Rather than being upset in the least, he just said that if she decided to return the door was always open. That was just what she needed to hear.    

Gruszecki began throwing again in 2011, won a second national title and was a United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American for the third time. She also was a USTFCCCA Academic All-American for the second time.
 
"I felt like this one I actually deserved, to be perfectly honest," Gruszecki said. "I'm just thankful that I came back to Western because my maturity wasn't there as a freshman and sophomore, and I made a one-eighty. I worked very hard to become better, and I think my marks showed that."

"(As a freshman) I came in with a PR (personal record) of 145 feet, then I threw 145 feet (at nationals), and everyone else didn't perform. I was seeded fifth coming in, and I threw 145 and won because everyone else just had an off day."

Prior to her senior year at Western, then-assistant coach Ben Stensland approached Gruszecki about adding strength training to her preparation.

"It wasn't until then that I even had a weight-lifting program," she said. "Ben talked with me and I was like, 'You mean that I can get better?' He said that I was capable of doing much more by lifting. Prior to that the concept was unheard of by me.

"We developed a workout plan and sure enough we increased exponentially that distance. That learning experience, that you can apply yourself and change something to a bigger potential than you can imagine, was huge for me."

After Western

In the spring of 2011, Gruszecki graduated from Western with degrees in German and English Literature, and certification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).

Gruszecki took a year to concentrate solely on training for the 2012 Olympics with javelin-guru Duncan Atwood. She competed across North America, but in April of that year tore her ulnar collateral ligament and had to sit out the trials. A year later, she broke a bone mid-throw and had to get elbow reconstruction surgery which turned into two full years of recovery.

Following four years attending the Gonzaga University School of Law, Gruszecki graduated in 2016 with cum laude honors. There she was the comments editor of the Gonzaga Law Review and interned in various legal fields, including the King County Prosecutor's Office in Seattle. She later integrated legal education with sports regulation by working in Gonzaga's athletics department as a compliance intern.
 
While at Gonzaga, Gruszecki took a javelin pilgrimage in 2015 to Jena, Germany, submitting herself to the tutelage of the great Petra Felke (old javelin rules world record holder of 80 meters/262-5 1/2). She came home having added five meters to her personal best.

One reason Gruszecki picked Felke was that she was fairly short, like herself.

"I'm 5-4 on a good day," said Gruszecki. "Most javelin throwers are taller and they've got longer limbs. Height corelates to a greater pull on the javelin. Arm length can really help the throw."

"I didn't fit the archetype because I'm short in stature and I've got even shorter arms than some of my javelin throwing friends. In essence, I had a lot of cards stacked up against me. But I was aggressive as hell. I essentially didn't have any reservations about throwing my whole body into it and I think that really helped me compete well … I loved every aspect of it and I was willing to put it all on the line.
 
"There's a bravery that comes with the javelin throw. Especially when you are sprinting down the runway full speed and putting your block foot down to get the most velocity into the javelin. You're essentially running up to a line as fast as you can and then suddenly stopping all of your leg momentum so that it all goes to the javelin. It takes a lot of bravery to do that at full speed."
   
Three years later, after working out with four-time USA Olympian Karen Smith (1976, 1980, 1984, 1988), Gruszecki's personal best throw of 54.68 meters (179-4) came at the 2015 Club Northwest All-Comers meet. That led to her participating in the 2015 USA Nationals and the 2016 Olympic Trials.

"It was that hunger for wanting to prove myself and what I'd learned (from Atwood, Felka and Smith) that really kept me going," recalled Gruszecki. "It was a little surreal to be at the trials and finally competing at that level … I was somewhat overwhelmed by it all but also extremely grateful. I didn't want to leave that experience with any sort of regret."
 
Although Gruszecki had to postpone her bar exam to compete in the 2016 Olympic Trials, she was far from nervous about her ability to pass the exam the following February.

"I think the only reason that someone would be nervous is if they have regret, and I can't say that I have any because, given all that I've had to work with — accommodating law school and javelin together — I wouldn't have wanted to compromise either of them."

Gruszecki then worked as a postgraduate intern in Enforcement at the NCAA National Office in Indianapolis, Ind., where she processed Secondary/Level III cases for Divisions I, II, and III. During her time there, Gruszecki provided direct legislative guidance and educational resources to over 1,200 institutions on self-reporting violations, including additional support for legislative relief waivers, rule interpretations, and student-athlete reinstatement.

In August of 2018, Gruszecki was named Director of Compliance at the University of Arizona. There she was responsible for providing rules education and interpretations to all UA sports programs.

Gruszecki stayed at Arizona until 2021 and is currently based in Seattle as a state attorney for the Washington State Division of Child Support. 

"I had been away from home since I started law school in 2013." Gruszecki said of her decision to leave U of A. "I was ready to return to my community, my amazing friends and family. My career took me all throughout the country, but when COVID hit I earnestly missed everyone from back home. I had to put aside my career in athletics and move on to a job that would allow me to be back in Washington." 

And ultimately, into the Western Athletic Hall of Fame. Which she joined in February of 2023.

While I've had this career in sports, the rest of my life I'm with people who know me as a completely different person," she said.
"My parents, who had immigrated twice, had no understanding of high school and college athletics. So, there are so many differences between my journey as compared to the typical journey."

"I owe so much to my parents because quite honestly I wouldn't be here (both in terms of occupation and WWU HOF) without observing their efforts to make it on a daily basis," she continued. "I have very passionate parents and I saw their drive and determination and what it afforded me."

And she is extremely thankful for her time at Western and participating in Viking athletics.

"I don't think I could have done it elsewhere," Gruszecki said.

"I truly think that being an athlete at Western was kismet to the extent that I was able to do things the way that was embodied in my style at that time. I have a unique background and I have a unique upbringing and Western was the perfect fit in many ways.
 
"I describe myself as someone who is an outlier. I don't necessarily fit a mold and Western didn't try to put me in one.
 
"I've seen other universities and programs that really tried to make you fit into a particular structure and that sort of required you to abandon your identity to a certain extent. Western allowed me to embrace the culturalism that embraced the uniqueness of me as an individual and I think that's what allowed me to thrive." 
 
And thrive she did, in Hall of Fame fashion.