Personal Statement
Since 2nd grade, I have played soccer and ran. I started running 5ks because of my older brother. With a soccer background, I could just compete without training and still do well. My brother saw my potential and told me that if I just worked hard at training, I could do even better. It wasn't until my mom put together a group of top middle school runners from Central Ohio to compete as Buckeye Select at Coaches National Cross Country Championship in 2013, that I really developed a love for running. I was surrounded by other girls who loved running and now, it was no longer an individual sport. Being part of a team is very important to me. To this day, I love going to cross country or track meets and visiting with all the girls from the different schools that have competed with us as Buckeye Select through the years--it's like a small sorority.
My freshman year at Gahanna Lincoln High School was definitely tough. Still loving both soccer and running, I asked my high school coaches to be allowed to do both in the same season. In the fall, I ran varsity cross country and played high school JV soccer as a starter. In the winter and spring, I played elite travel soccer on a state ranked team and ran distance in indoor and outdoor track. By the end of each season, I was worn out. After participating on a state runner-up track team, I missed not being physically and mentally able to be there for these girls that I call my friends.
For my sophomore year, being able to focus solely on running was definitely worth what I gave up. As a cross country team, we won our conference, districts, and regional meets, and qualified for states. For indoor track, my 4x8 won the state championship and the school claimed its 3rd indoor state championship. In outdoor track, my 4x8 won districts and regionals; placed 2nd at states with a time of 8:56.73 which was 4th in the country at the time; and earned MileSplit's 3rd team All-American award. Our school also captured conference, districts, and regional titles as well as another state runner-up title. I am so proud to be a part of such an amazing, positive, hard-working, and determined bunch of girls. Their dedication to running is inspiring.
My junior year was not what I had hoped. As a captain in cross country, we competed at states as a team. I saw great improvement in indoor track with a 800m PR of 2:23. Then I pulled my hamstring. I watched my team win repeat back to back 4x8 indoor state championship and their 4th straight indoor team state championship, earn 1st team All-American in the 4x8 in outdoor track, win states overall, and place 2nd at New Balance Outdoor Nationals.
Over the summer of my senior year, I worked hard to regain strength in my right leg. While it was difficult to watch the track team accomplish all our goals without me last spring, it has fueled my determination to repeat last year's success except with me on the team instead of watching.
My big meets include:
2011-12 (5th grader) : Ohio Middle School State Cross Country Championship, USATF Ohio Association Junior Olympics Cross Country Championship, and Coaches National Cross Country Championship
2012-13 (6th grader): Ohio Middle School State Cross Country Championship, and USATF Ohio Association Junior Olympics Track and Field Championship
2013-14 (7th grader): OHSAA Ohio Middle School Cross Country Championship, Coaches National Cross Country Championship, and Ohio Middle School State Track and Field Championship
2014-15 (8th grader): OHSAA Ohio Middle School Cross Country Championship, Coaches National Cross Country Championship, and Ohio Middle School State Track and Field Championship
2015-16 (9th grader): OHSAA High School Cross Country Regionals, Coaches National Cross Country Championship, Ohio Milesplit's Indoor Track Spire Scholastic, and Kentucky's Eastern Relays and Central District D1-District 3 for outdoor track
2016-2017 (10th grader): OHSAA High School State Cross Country Championship, Nike Midwest Cross Country Regionals, Ohio State Indoor Track and Field Championship, and for outdoor track: Central District D1- District 2, OHSAA Div 1 Region 3, and OHSAA Div 1 State Outdoor Track and Field Championship
2017-2018 (11th grader): OHSAA High School State Cross Country Championship
Press:
4/12/18: 11th grade track: Girls Track Team Again Thinking Big
11/7/2017: 11th grade XC: Girls Runners Eager to Take Next Step
10/31/2017: 11th grade XC: Girls Runners Earn State Berth
10/17/2017: 11th grade XC: Girls Runners Win OCC Title
10/3/17: 11th grade XC: Girls Cross Country Team Coming Together
9/5/2017 11th grade XC: Girls Embracing Expectations
6/8/2017 10th grade track: D1 Girls 4x800m Relay Performance Spotlight
5/23/2017 10th grade track: Four Teams Earn District Hardware
5/16/2017 10th grade track: Track Squad Earns Sweep of OCC-Ohio
4/11/2017 10th grade track: Decorated Girls Squad Stays Focused
3/7/2017 10th grade track: OATCCC Indoor State Championship - D1 Girls Team Relay Events Report
3/5/2017 10th grade track: Gahanna Girls, Pickerington Central Boys Win Indoor State Titles
11/1/2016 10th grade XC: Girls Runners Easily Win Regional Title
10/19/2016 10th grade XC: Runners Prep for Postseason
10/25/2016 10th grade XC: Boys, Girls Runners Earn District Championship
9/27/2016 10th grade XC: Girls Runners Rated Among State's Best
8/30/2016 10th grade XC: Girls Runners Seek League, State Titles
6/14/2016 9th grade track: Girls Track Team Should Remain Strong
11/3/2015 9th grade XC: Teams Keep Cool, Capture District Titles
8/25/2015 9th grade XC: Girls Runners Have New Look, Same Hopes
