LARAMIE – No matter how fast you are, it's hard to chase your dreams with a broken heart.
 
Gabby Drube experienced a painful tragedy out of the starting blocks on her way to becoming the top-ranked 400-meter hurdler in the Mountain West this season.
 
Her father, former Wyoming tight end Kirby Drube, died on Oct. 6, 2021, from complications related to COVID-19 shortly after Gabby joined the Cowgirls' track & field team.
 
"When my dad passed away it was really shocking," Drube said. "I never thought that would happen. Even with the pandemic, living in Wyoming, a smaller place, you're like that's not going to happen to us."
 
The support from UW head coach Bryan Berryhill, sprints/hurdles coach Ben Santos and her teammates helped Drube deal with the grief as a freshman.
 
"It's hard to go back to that year and think about that because you don't really want to, but I think we had some awesome people on the team that year and she made some really great friends," Santos recalled. "Some of them are still here and some of them aren't, but I think if we didn't have that group around, especially the freshmen that year, then it would have been much harder to keep her in school."
 
Despite missing a significant amount of training, Drube competed in the 100 hurdles and experimented with some other events early in her career before locking in on 400 hurdles full-time this season.
 
"I don't think I would have gotten through it without them," Drube said of her coaches and teammates. "I even thought about redshirting that year, but I decided not to because I was like, 'I think if I'm in my dorm by myself while everyone else is traveling, (the season) probably won't end well.'"
 
Now Drube is thriving as a junior. The rising star from Gillette has the fastest 400 hurdle time (58.39 seconds) in the conference this season entering the Mountain West Outdoor Championships, which begin Thursday in Fresno, Calif.
 
"She's one of the hardest working kids on our team," Berryhill said. "We really appreciate everything she does for us. And being from Gillette and from Wyoming, seeing how she developed from high school to now, being the No. 1-ranked 400-meter hurdler in the conference, is pretty special. She's a neat kid."
 
Drube set a meet record at the Doug Max Invite hosted by Colorado State on April 28, finishing with a time of 58.83.
 
Taylor Weidinger moved into UW's top five with a time of 59.30 in Fort Collins. Gabby Mendoza-Molina, a teammate of Drube's at Thunder Basin High School, is also having a strong season in the 400 hurdles.
 
"They have both helped (Drube) push her limits," Santos said. "In an event like that it's kind of hard to keep your foot on the gas all the time. I think, 100 percent, she has benefited from having some great teammates around."
 
The 400 hurdles prelims at the conference championships are scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursday with the final set for 8:35 p.m. Saturday on the Mountain West Network.
 
"I'm trying not to put any expectations on it, honestly," Drube said. "I'm kind of a person that puts a lot of pressure on myself and just being ranked No. 1 is pressure for me. I do like a little bit of pressure but if I start to overthink it too much it's not going to end well. I'm just going to try to go out there and let God do what his plan is. I'm going to try to do my best and hope it ends how I want. If not, it's just not God's plan for me."
 
Drube and Weidinger have the No. 1 and No. 4 fastest times in the Mountain West, respectively. Utah State's Maddie Edwards (58.84) and Olivia Smith (59.31) are ranked No. 2 and No. 3 with Colorado State's Neya Jamison (59.49) at No. 5.
 
A total of eight women in the field have clocked times under a minute this season. Mendoza-Molina (1:03.38), a freshman, is No. 21 entering her first conference championship meet.
 
"We've talked a lot about just focusing on her effort and the team at large," Santos said of preparing Drube for this opportunity. "She's continuing to learn that, not just in the race, but as a person the things you can control are attitude and effort. I think she kind of leans on that a little bit to get through every race because every race is a stressful race."
 
Winning a Mountain West title will be an easier dream for Drube to realize than breaking the Cowgirls' record in her event.
 
UW Hall of Fame inductee Shauna Smith became the first woman in the history of the program to win a national championship in the 400 hurdles with a blistering time of 54.32 seconds at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
 
"That would be like a dream for me. If that happened it would be a total, like, how did that happen?" Drube said. "So, that's not super realistic for me but you never know, anything can happen. I'm not going to cut myself short of it, but I know where I'm at with my running."
 
Drube, who grew up attending UW football games and reunions of her father's teams, says she is in a good place right now.
 
"I know my dad would have wanted me to keep going," Drube said. "That was a really big motivating thing for me. After he passed away, I was home for like a month and I was like, hey, I've got to get back and finish strong here, get through this year. I know that's what he would want. …
 
"It takes time not feeling sad all the time and stuff. I think I'm kind of back to myself this year. I felt a lot more in my groove and confident."
 
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