Star Valley’s Valerie Jirak Signs with Duke for Track & Field

Star Valley's Valerie Jirak will take her immense skills in track and field to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

She had a phenomenal State Indoor Track Meet in 2023 with four first-place finishes in 3A and set class records in each event. Jirak won the 55-meter dash in 7.48 seconds, the 200 in 25.91 seconds, the 400 with a time of 59.39 seconds, and the long jump going 17-9.25.

In her junior year at the State Outdoor Track Meet, she placed 3rd in the 4A 100-meter dash in 12.28 and 2nd in the 400 with a clocking of 55.61. Jirak added a runner-up finish in the high jump at 5-4 and ran the anchor leg on Star Valley's state championship 4x100 relay team in 48.79, narrowly missing the overall state record.

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In her sophomore season on the outdoor circuit, Jirak was 5th in the 100 at the 4A State Meet, 4th in the 200, 2nd in the high jump at 5 feet even, and ran the lead-off in the 4x100 relay that placed 2nd. At the 2022 Indoor State Meet, she was 3rd in the 200, and 9th in the 400. She ran on the Braves 4x200 meter relay team that placed 2nd and the 4x400 meter relay team that took 7th.

Jirak opened some eyes in the 2021 4A Outdoor Championships as a sophomore with a 5th-place finish in the 200, 6th in the 100 and the high jump, and her 4x100 relay team took 4th.

Duke is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the women's track team won the ACC Outdoor Championships in May of 2023.