Aisling Callahan '22 Recruiting Profile

Through running track, I have learned the importance of both self-discipline and being a team player. I have learned that your success depends on how much work you put in by yourself when no one is watching, and you don’t have your coach and team pushing you to be your best. To excel at track, you have to strive to be better and put in a lot of the work on your own. When it comes down to it, your races are an individual event and as much as your teammates train with you and cheer you on, it is up to you to push yourself to cross the finish line for a new PR. What I’ve learned through track has also helped my academics and made me much more self-disciplined and hardworking in the classroom.

Also, track has truly taught me what it means to be a team player. In a relay, you have to give everything you can for your team. It might mean giving up the position you normally like to run, having to go up against a runner you are intimidated by or trusting that your coaches know what is best for you. Being in the 4 by 800 relay has pushed me to run some of my best times and push through pain and fatigue more than I ever have for it all to pay off for my team. In a championship-winning program like North Andover’s, my coaches often put me in events I’m uncomfortable in or give me a lofty goal to achieve so I can score as many points as possible. Knowing that doing my best will help my team succeed is my biggest motivation and I will keep that mentality as a college athlete and for the rest of my life. I am willing to do as much as I can for a college program to help my team succeed, and I am excited to find a new team that supports and challenges me as much as North Andover does.