Devin Chappel '23 Recruiting Profile

Ever since I was young, I have had that competitive, high-energy spirit, whether it was at home, in the classroom or competing in sports. As a student athlete the competitive drive transferred over into the classroom as I was competing with my twin sister for the best grades. The drive to be the best translated into me taking honors classes, AP classes, and college classes, all the while keeping a 4.0 GPA. I aspire to attend a college to study Kinesiology or Biology before moving on to a Doctor of Physical Therapy program. 

Before and during my middle school years, my main focus was mainly swim and I started running cross country and track to keep in shape during my off season. To my surprise running became my main sport after my freshman year of high school cross country, but sadly covid eliminated my first high school track season. I continued with running and swimming throughout my sophomore year and although my sophomore year of track was plagued once again missing most of the track season with a broken elbow after the second day of practice. After laying out for 6 weeks with no running or conditioning, I made a strong comeback right before state, and then I realized I wanted to focus only on running. This proved beneficial as my junior year of cross country I finished 4th in the 5k at the Kansas High School state meet, and in my first full year of high school track I finished 3rd both in the 1600M and 3200M at state. I truly believe I have not even reached my running potential ability, as without a running/track club in my local area, I was switching between swim and running. And for me, the two sports were working against each other as I would have to gain or lose about 20 pounds of muscle to be competitive for the respected sport season. 

During my junior year I realized my role on any given team isn't only to be the leader in stats, but also a leader for my teammates to help them become the best they can be individually on the team as well as in the classroom.  Running is not only an individual sport, but also a team collaboration from the very first runner to the last runner. I have also learned that a being a leader is a position in which you can always improve and learn from others that are supporting you and coaching you to become a better student athlete.  I am excited to see what my future holds at the collegiate level.