Ryan Noonan '23 Recruiting Profile

Hello coaches! My name is Ryan Noonan and I am a junior at Walled Lake Western  high school. I run the 800, 1600, 3200, and 5k along with being a varsity basketball player. I have current PRs of 2:10, 4:53, 10:20,  and 17:36. My collegiate goals would be to have the opportunity to run XC and track and field at any Division 1/2/3 school that would give me an opportunity. I’ve been betting on myself and taking chances on myself my whole life so I would be grateful for any coach or program that would do the same for me. My times still need some work but I am committed to working as hard as a can everyday to get them where I want them to be not only for a better chance at being recruited but also for my personal high school  goals and my teams goals.  I may not currently have top notch times but one thing I know that no other recruit will ever have over me is my mentality. Throughout high school I have dealt with severe depression and have attempted suicide multiple times. This is extremely personal but it is an Important part of my story and who I am. I found a way to overcome depression about a year ago, it took all of the strength I had and more. It was like fighting a battle with myself every day. But after everything I ended up winning the battle, and every day since then I have given everything I have to shaping the new me and the real me. I realized that what I went through is something that I never deserved and I that I never deserved to feel that way. So since then I have adopted the “why not me” mentality. The why not me mentality basically means that no matter what I’ve been through, no matter what happened in the past, no matter what I look like or what other people say, I can do anything I set my mind to and be anyone I want to be. I am a big believer in the quote that “fears, like limits, are often just illusions”. limits are not something that I believe in anymore and fear is not something I give in to. Why not me? Why cant I run in college? Why can’t I win this race? Why can’t I succeed in everything I do? Why can’t I be better than I was yesterday? Why can’t I be who I know I can be? Every time I ask myself these questions I can’t come up with a good answer. I am so confident that I have only scratched the surface and that my ceiling is very high. I am a strong and confident leader and I care more about making my teammates better than I do myself. I was the captain of my cross country team this past season and I made it my goal to be the best leader that has come through the program in a long time. I focused on making myself and my teammates better runners but also on making our team a family and making western XC an outlet for kids to come to and feel confident in themselves and feel like they are part of a family. We had team dinners, donut runs, birthday parties, road trips, team mini camp, and established 5+ new traditions like our team flag, cheers, and new awards. We underwent a total culture change because I wanted to make my vision into our vision with the help of our first year head coach Andy Klassa (“Coach K”). We did all of this while also striving to one day be conference champions and go to states. I am an underdog and always will be. I will probably be underecruited and underrated. But I am also strong, confident, driven, focused, and undeniable and I am determined to become everything I set my mind to and become everything the old me never thought I could. I know I would bring this mentality to any coach or program that would have me. If you’re going to take a chance on anyone, take a chance on me, you won’t regret it. Thank you!