- 2023 Spotlight #2
Personal Statement
Hi, I'm Casey. I am a rapidly improving 17-year-old distance runner from New Zealand who wishes to study and compete in the USA. I run both cross-country and track. For track, I run 1500m, 5000m, and my favorite event, the 3000m. This past track season I have drastically improved my times and look forward to continuing to improve in the future. By the end of 2023, I hope to improve my 3000m time from 8:57 down to 8:45, and my 1500 time from 4:14 to 4:05 and place competitively at nationals in December. This past December I raced in the New Zealand Secondary Schools road race. This is a 6km event where I ran 19:42 and placed 17th. This is an event I look to target this year as I am a strength-based runner and excel over longer distances.
What sets me apart from other athletes is that I plan my training so that it will benefit my running in the long term. Most school athletes are trained so that they can peak and run their best possible times in school which can possibly burn them out. I have not yet peaked in my athletic career because I look to build strength so I can reach my peak fitness long after school is over. This is why I am confident that I can make such big improvements this year and beyond because I have set myself up for the future.
Academically I have endorsed NCEA level 1 (year 11) with Excellence, receiving the St Peter's school Scholars tie (90%+ GPA). For level 2 (Year 12) I endorsed the year with Merit. I am currently taking NCEA level 3 (year 13).
