Jamaree Ried '14 Recruiting Profile

When I was younger I found myself in a place that being average and settling was the way of life.  You would have never heard the word college come out of my mouth.  However my parents have continued to push me harder and harder over the years and my goals for myself have changed drastically.  My grades began to go up and college became real and a very obtainable goal.  Now it is not even an option, I will go to college and work toward my bachelors degree and possibly even my masters someday. 

When it comes to sports my true passion is with track however I do love playing football as well.  I think when I started running is when my whole life changed and I began to see the world from a different perspective.  I remember my first race, my adrenaline began to rush as I listened for the “BANG”.  I flew out of the blocks and swept over the first hurdle.  It was in that moment when I realized that the track was my new home.  I will continue to learn, grow and push myself because one day my dream is to run the 400 hurdles in the Olympics.  

In my sophomore year of high school my personal best in the 300 hurdles was 45 seconds.  As a junior my goal was to get that time down to 37 seconds.  With help from my coach, extensive online research, an athletic trainer and camps I expanded my running and training knowledge.  By the end of my junior year I made it to the state meet and ran my personal best of 40.53 seconds.  Now in my senior year I have continued to work toward my goal of 37 seconds in the 300 hurdles and 14.3 in the 110 hurdles.  I plan to attend college, continue my track journey and never give up.  I feel that getting a higher education is extremely important and for me sports play a vital role in that process.  I find running keeps me focused and mentally prepared for everyday challenges of school and life.