Oklahoma State University Athletics
Track Shoes & Tiaras
Story by Clay BillmanThis story was originally published in the Spring 2016 edition of POSSE Magazine.
Student. (check)
Athlete. (check)
Royalty?
Triana Browne-Hearrell is all of the above … and more.
The native Tulsan claimed her crown at the 2016 Miss OSU Scholarship Pageant last fall. Her year-long reign will include a chance to vie for the Miss Oklahoma title in June.
The daughter of former Oklahoma State track standouts, Dr. Monica Browne and Joel Hearrell, she grew up in a running household, bleeding orange.
“Ever since I was little I wanted to go to OSU and run here,” she says.
It almost didn’t happen.
Browne-Hearrell’s family relocated to Peachtree City, Ga., prior to her freshman year of high school.
A standout sprinter at Starr’s Mill High School, Browne-Hearrell committed to run track for a nearby university in Georgia, along with a number of her track and field teammates. But even as she signed the scholarship papers, her heart was back in Oklahoma.
“It just didn’t feel right,” she recalls. “I signed (the NCAA letter of intent) and got home immediately from faxing it at the library and told my mom, ‘This isn’t right. I want to go to OSU.’
“I ended up coming to Oklahoma State. I wasn’t planning on running originally. I just came here as a normal student.”
That didn’t feel right, either.
At a high school meet, Browne-Hearrell had befriended fellow Georgian Kirubel Erassa, an eventual seven-time All-American for the Cowboys. The pair kept in touch, and it led to an introduction to Dave Smith, OSU’s director of track and field and cross country. Smith invited the freshman to walk-on, and by the spring of 2013, Browne-Hearrell was back on the track.
At the start of her sophomore year, Smith hired a dedicated coach, Diego Flaquer, to work specifically with the sprinters.
“Quite honestly, I’ve gone through a lot of coaches just being at different schools, and Diego is the best coach I’ve ever had,” says Browne-Hearrell. “He knows how to connect with the athletes really well and knows what’s best for you when it comes to training. He doesn’t just throw you out there and expect you to do something. He helps you understand what’s going on whenever you’re working out. He talks about techniques and the fundamentals of what you’re doing and how you can improve upon it … The next thing you know, you’re dropping time and you don’t even know how, you’re just doing what he says.”
Under Flaquer’s tutelage, Browne-Hearrell began to set new personal bests, in the 400 (56.48) and 400 meter hurdles (1:04.87). “That first year I was running slow 400s,” she admits. “Within half a year I dropped four seconds off my time, which my parents couldn’t believe.”
“Triana has been an extremely hard worker,” Flaquer says. “We’ve had our ups and downs with injuries, but our goal this year is for her to finish on the highest note possible. Triana is a fighter, once she sets her mind to something. As I tell my kids, you have to let your choices lead you, and the feelings will follow.”
“Diego always told me, ‘Do not be afraid to step into the unknown.’ I use that quote for everything now. That’s what our coach has instilled in us, to not be afraid of what you’re capable of. Step out of your comfort zone. With track, you go through so many mental battles. That’s why I think everybody on the team is doing so well right now, because not only does he connect with you mentally, but physically he gets you to understand your own body and push it to a whole other level.”
Her junior year, Browne-Hearrell struggled with injuries common to track athletes (especially her own flesh and blood).
“I’m just like my dad,” she says. “Always injured. I’ve found that I’m a really tough girl who will push through injuries and will not let them heal. Basically, it started with one injury and not fully taking care of it, thinking that I was ready to come back, and it just led to the next thing. By that time it was just like a domino effect. And that just comes from my dad. My mom was never injured, but my dad had a career ending injury, because he did the same thing as me.”
Unlike running, the role of “pageant queen” wasn’t something that Browne-Hearrell aspired to, she says. It was an opportunity literally to pay the bills.
Along with the crown, first prize in the Miss OSU Scholarship Pageant is $1,200. The first runner-up is awarded $600.
“I saw an ad for Miss OSU and saw how much you could win for each place,” she recalls. “I decided to try it, because, quite honestly, I wanted to help my mom pay for my school. As a student-athlete you only have so much time to work. I understand how much money goes into going to school, and I want to do everything I can to help my mom. She’s done so much for me. I thought Miss OSU would be a great opportunity.” Browne-Hearrell had only been in one previous “Miss” pageant, as a high school freshman.
“One of my teachers suggested I try it,” she says. “It was an amazing experience, but I didn’t do very well because I didn’t know what I was doing.”
Five years later, she felt like a rookie once again.
“My mom said, ‘If you can find some dresses, go ahead. Have fun with it.’ I ended up getting first runner-up. I got to give my mom that $600 on her birthday.
“I didn’t try any other pageants after that because of track. I was going through the injury, and mentally I was just so distraught. I was just trying to figure out how to get back to running.”
At the start of her senior year, Browne-Hearrell’s rehab was progressing well. The human development and family science major was focused on school and being a competitive athlete again, not on chasing a crown. But as the pageant deadline neared, she was encouraged to give it another shot.
However, a few hurdles stood in her way.
“I didn’t have any dresses,” she says. “I contacted multiple people, including the girl who lent me the dresses the year before, with no luck. The date was coming up so quickly that I had put in my head that it’s just not meant to be.”
Pageant officials urged Browne-Hearrell to attend rehearsals at the very least, in the event her situation changed. She practiced her talent — singing — just in case.
“A part of me was just like, I’m done. It’s not going to work out. The pageant was the next night. We did the run-through for the opening number, and a girl came up to me and said, ‘Are you saying that you can’t find dresses?’
Samantha Martin, a freshman from Oklahoma City, offered Browne-Hearrell a closet full of dresses from prom and a number of past pageants.
“She said, ‘I don’t know if you’ll like them, but at least you can compete.’”
Along with the aforementioned evening wear, Miss OSU contestants are judged on a pre-show interview, physical fitness in swimsuit, onstage question-and-answer, talent and evening wear.
Martin was named first runner-up, while the competitor who borrowed from her wardrobe took the crown.
“She was excited for me. That’s the type of person who should be winning pageants,” Browne-Hearrell says. “Samantha just recently won Miss Green Country, so she will be in the Miss Oklahoma pageant with me. She’s extremely intelligent. Gorgeous girl. She has a bright future ahead of her. She’s going to do well in Miss Oklahoma, and I’m glad to say that, because she’s a great person.”
As Miss OSU, Browne-Hearrell keeps a busy schedule, making appearances on campus, as well as speaking at schools and events statewide. Meanwhile, she’s earned Academic All-Big 12 honors in the classroom.
“What’s great about having the title is that you can be as busy as you want to be, and I’ve made it imperative that I’m extremely busy,” she says. “Community service is just part of who I am as a person, but this takes it a step further by having a title behind it. I’m much more capable of reaching out to people as Miss OSU.
“I’m just trying to be who I am as a person, show my true character, because this is a school I’ve always wanted to go to. And I’ve been able to represent it as an athlete and as a student, but I wanted to find my purpose within that. I feel like I’ve found it.”
Browne-Hearrell’s message combines her athletic background and passion for healthy lifestyles.
“My platform is called ‘Heart to Heart: Healthy Habits, Healthy Lives’ … It’s a passion of mine to be healthy. You should take care of your body. You only have one life, so you want to be here as long as you possibly can and reach your fullest potential. You want to be able to go through every day with energy.
“To be healthy doesn’t mean you have to eat leaves. You really can enjoy it. For me, as someone who loves flavor, seasonings and stuff, it’s been finding ways to make food delicious. Or finding ways to get kids to enjoy actually working out.”
This spring, Browne-Hearrell’s own workouts are focused on the outdoor track and field season, where she will compete in the pentathlon.
“This is my last year to run,” she says. “My career ends after this, and I’ve been running since I was seven, so it’s now or never. I want to do well in this last year and end on a good note, so I’m just really focusing on eating right, training as hard as I can, training smart, and then hopefully by the time outdoor season gets here I’ll be where I want to be.
“I’m wanting to do something this season that I’ve never done before,” she adds. “The year before it was a matter of stepping into the unknown. Well, I’ve done that. I’m used to that now. It’s a matter of taking it a step further. I’m wanting to surprise a few people, to make this a very eventful year — a very impactful year.”
She already has.
