Personal Statement
If you talk to anyone who lives near Stover you will hear about the tall kid, in the short shorts, who runs all over the place. That would be me. Ever since I was a little kid I have loved running. One of my favorite childhood memories was when I would go over to my Nana's. I would try to race my Grandpa Steve in his pick up truck up their giant hill that lead to their house. I may have never won, but I always gave it my best and never stopped running until I got to the doorway of their house. When I was in the 6th grade I played baseball, long story short I hated it. But I found something while playing that I was good at… Running. We would start every practice with 2 laps around the field and I would beat everybody. Before long, I proceeded to run even more laps. It became so natural, and I enjoyed every second of it. Little did I know that running would change my life forever.
In 7th grade, I started cross country. It was a sport I knew nothing about, but it sounded simple enough. Just run until you hit the finish line. What they don't tell you is that after you win, it becomes an obsession. You want to be able to win more and continue to getting faster and faster. They also didn't tell me that I would come to crave excelling and winning. Which in turn gave way to how I treat a lot of aspects of my life, such as school and art. I can make acivities competitive to push myself.
In high school, running has taught me how to have discipline. I have such a love for the sport. Even when I am simply having fun, running has pushed me to places I would have never dreamed. I can't complain about my high school running career. I have made 5 state appearances so far. I medaled 23rd in cross country my sophomore year. Then in my junior year I placed 18th in cross country, 6th in the 3200, and 5th in 1600.
All of the medals I have won came after I got a nasty dog bite on the back of my leg. As well as dealing with covid during my sophomore running seasons. My love for sports and loads of support from my coaches and family has helped me to bounce back from hardships over the years.
One of my biggest goals starting XC in high school was to get a team to state. Something that my school has never done before. It may only be my optimism, but I think this year we're finally going to get that state team.
I am looking forward to going to college and being part of a new team. It is an amazing opportunity that I have been working towards for years. I want to become a strong component that helps my team win. It is much easier to give my all knowing that I have a team depending on me. It pushes me to work on getting stronger and faster.
My individual goals this year is to give everything in me to try and bring home a state champion medal.
I love running and I hope in the future I can compete at a high level with an amazing team. It is my goal to achieve all of these things, while also getting a great education. In the end, I'm just trying to become the best version of myself.
