Konstanze Wendeln '18 Recruiting Profile

    When my family moved from a small town in Germany to Vermont my junior year, I was excited about trying one of the many sports options available at Rice Memorial High School. Where I come from, most teenagers play either soccer or handball. I decided to run cross-country, even though I had never even heard of it before. I knew about 5k and 10k street races, but to run long distance competitively through fields and forests was an unknown to me. 

    In the first few weeks of the 2016 season, I worked my way up from being a newcomer to becoming a very competitive runner. By the end of the season, I was able to reach a personal record of 19:45 (currently 19:37). At the Vermont State Championship, I placed second in the Division III race, and 18th overall. As a result, I was selected to run for the state of Vermont at the New England Championship in Rhode Island. Although I was not particularly happy with my results because I was stuck in a bottleneck, I was proud of my accomplishments in the short season.

    As I enter my last year of high school and second year of running, my feelings are bittersweet. Bitter because I am so late to the game, running for high school, but then, sweet because I know there is a university out there that will give me the opportunity to further develop my running skills and will welcome the passion, energy and love I have for the sport, both from which a team can greatly benefit.