Mia Costello '16 Recruiting Profile

My junior year Cross Country season was quite a journey. To recap:

I went from being a girl on varsity since her freshman year to getting nearly last in every race. I was disappointed in myself and sensed others were too. To make matters worse, my Mom made me quit soccer. She believed my body was shutting down after doing two sports at a time during fall and spring for the past 3 years. Not to mention my grades were slipping at a stressful rate. I couldn’t stay up to do homework and that’s not easy to get away with in AP classes. Running has become part of my life; quitting was not an option.

The idea of being out of shape wasn’t an option either because the weakness my body felt became noticeable in the matter of a weekend. It was evident something was not right. At our Cross Country banquet I received a JV letter. Next, I tried out for soccer and made JV after not playing for 3 months. I didn’t notice too much affecting me so I gained more hope for track season.

After a couple weeks into track I convinced my Mom to take me to the doctors. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the words, “Wow I’m stunned you’re up and moving, luckily you’re not low enough to be hospitalized.” I have iron deficiency anemia, a condition where one doesn’t have enough iron in their body. My iron level was at 7 when it should be at 13. Half the amount of iron someone should ever have. I was relieved to find out why I couldn’t stay awake to study or keep up for eight miles. All I had to do to get back to normal was take iron supplements. I got my grades back up to a 4.1 GPA. My friends and coaches were amazed at the information although they did not think I’d be healthy quick enough to succeed this season. In return I got a personal record every single 800 meter race I ran and crossed the finish line first for our league at league finals with a time of 2:24, leading me to qualify for CIF. 

It is typical to say hardworking, however, I do believe I am and that it sets me apart from others because I never backed down while things did not go my way. I am proud to say I have ran every race possible and have never dropped out. My goals are to continue to run because I now know what I am capable of. As I was captain the following Cross Country season I made sure no one stopped because of what I went through.

At http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Athlete.aspx?AID=4666024 you can see my stats and how my seasons for xc and track went.