Personal Statement
My name is Mitchell Hopf, and I am currently a 16 year old sophomore at Heritage Hills High School in Lincoln City, Indiana. I am pursuing an offer to run track and cross country in college. I was introduced to the sport of distance running at age 14 in 8th grade, and I quickly fell in love with it; therefore, I am extremely dedicated to my training, development, and academic work to allow myself to chase my dreams. I excelled on the track the first time I set foot on it, and that success has carried over early into my high school career, as I reached 4:45 in the 1600 meters and 2:05 in the 800 meters as a freshman. I ran my first season of cross country this year, and broke into the mid 16's early on in the season. After a successful winter training, I was able to improve 20 seconds in the 1600 meters, running 4:25, and I ran 2:00.8 in the 800 meters. At the end of my high school career, I hope to run under 4:15 for 1600 meters, under 1:56 for 800 meters, under 9:15 for the 3200 meters, (a distance I plan to expand to possibly next season) and under 15:20 for the XC 5,000 meters.
Many simple characteristics set me apart from my competitors; those include the work ethic I use to push myself on every run, the determination I have to do my best, and the heart and soul I run every race with. It is my hope that collegiate coaches choose to follow my development and journey throughout my high school career to see where these traits can carry me to.
