Anatalia Ashcroft '15 Recruiting Profile

          To say that I love athletics would be the understatement of a lifetime. Sports mean the world to me, and throughout the ups and downs of my athletic career I have learned just how precious the opportunity to participate and compete is. Over the years I have come to realize that (though I may feel as though I am) I am not invincible. After recovering from multiple minor injuries during my younger years from simply the wear and tear of activities and sports, the summer of 2012 was when I finally met my match. While doing exercises for diving on a trampoline, I landed on my head and suffered multiple fractures in my C6 and C7 vertebrae. While lying in the hospital awaiting answers from the doctors, there were moments when I wondered whether or not I would ever be able to compete again, to play my violin again, or to simply do what I love: being active. However, by the grace of God I was able to make a full recovery, and today I continue to compete.  It’s because of this injury that I value athletics to the degree that I do, because I know now just how easily they can become impossible.

          Now I am 18 years old and I take every opportunity possible to enjoy athletics. During my senior year, I competed part of the season on the varsity Swim and Dive team as a diver, but due to a second concussion I am finishing out the season as a swimmer, as it was determined that I should no longer dive. Along with swimming and diving, I will be competing on the varsity Track and Field team as a pole vaulter, while leading the team as a Captain. I will also be competing in my favorite type of individual competition: Triathlons.

          As a natural leader, I am always pushing myself to set the standard and be the example for all the younger athletes around me, as well as looking up to coaches and other accomplished athletes as a means to motivate myself. Every time I step onto the track, into the weight room, onto the pool deck, or into a classroom, I make a point to give 100% of my effort and energy to make each workout as effective as possible.  Whether it be studying or stretching, I make sure to put all I have into everything that I do so that come competition day, I can honor my team and my God with my performance.

          As I peruse the opportunity to compete in collegiate athletics, some of the goals I have made include:

1. Entering my collegiate team with a PR of 12’6” or higher.
2. Vaulting over 13 feet by my freshman year.
3. Finishing a Sprint Triathlon in under 01:10:00 by the end of my freshman year.
4. Completing my first 1/2 ironman triathlon by the end of my freshman year.