Jacqueline Patterson '18 Recruiting Profile

When I reluctantly agreed to join the winter track team with a couple of friends my freshman year at Princeton High School, I had my doubts about the sport and about my capacity to do well in it.  But after the first arduous practice, I knew track was something I wanted to pursue.  I have always been a competitive person, and the nature of the sport truly matched my personality.  In workouts, I always pushed to out-do myself as well as to out-do others, and my perseverance was rewarded, as I soon became one of the top sprinters on the team.  Having never run competitively before, I was as surprised as my coaches, friends and family were.  I found a distance that I was able to excel at when I moved from the 100 and 200 up to the 400.  

During my sophomore year, after running cross country in the fall, I additionally focused on the 800.  Now I am entering my junior year after what was my most accomplished season yet. I learned what determination really was when I anchored our Penn Relay 4x400 team, and after losing my shoe and sock during the hand-off, I finished the lap in 58 seconds with only one shoe on.  I finished the season with a personal best of 57.27 in the 400 and 2:18.90 in the 800.  

I am looking forward to next year, as I hope to continue to improve my times and to help lead my team as a co-captain of winter and spring track.  I am as committed to academics as I am to track, and currently have a 3.92/4.00 GPA.  I have completed two AP courses (US History and French) as well as three accelerated courses: chemistry, biology and geometry.  As a junior, I will take French at Princeton University, and will take AP World History, AP English, and AP Biology at Princeton High School.  In the fall of 2018, I plan to attend a college or university competitive in both academics and on the track, where I can push myself to achieve my full potential.