Anshul Panchal '26 Recruiting Profile

Hi, I am Anshul Panchal. I attend John P. Stevens High School and run Track, both indoors and outdoors. I have been on the varsity team since freshman year. I have been running Track since 8th grade and am working on being the fastest I have ever been every day. Keeping a good balance between rest and training is the key to success. Track has been my passion since 8th grade as I began to prioritize fitness. I only really started Track to get into shape as I was close to obesity in early Middle School. I had to change my lifestyle and began Track as a way of exercise. I played Cricket at the time, and the combination of dedicated workout sessions every day in the gym after school during the off-season and Track practices during Track season provided a foundation where I could begin to focus on Track and call it my primary sport while playing Cricket as well. I put the work in during practices, and before I knew it, I began to place first during time trials we had in 8th grade and excelled in 8th-grade shotput. During our township meet, I placed 3rd overall for the 100m race with a time of 13.6 and 1st in the shotput. I was really hyped and began to go on some runs over the summer and continued to work out while continuing Cricket. The summer passed, and I had one of my best seasons yet for Cricket. Then freshman year began. One day, I was on the bus returning home during the first week of school. I recall asking one of my Junior friends about the sports this high school offers. We conversed a bit on the topic of sports, and then he said something that stayed with me throughout my entire freshman year of high school. He said, "A Varsity Letter is one of the most prestigious awards you can get." I made that my goal. When Winter season began, I realized I was not all that fast and was shown reality as some of my teammates were running times like 11.1 in the 100m during our opening time trials. Since there was no 100m race in the Winter season, I prioritized the 55m and 200m dashes, where I opened the season with a 7.6 hand-timed 55m and a 26.8 hand-timed 200m. I started putting every last breath into practice, facing the New Jersey cold and rain in our outdoor Winter practices and staying overtime most days in the fitness center. I began researching ways to get faster and applied my findings to my daily training. Nearing the end of the season, I was put into our last JV meet as a substitute. A couple of hours before the meet, our team realized that one of our 200m runners would be out because he had a fever. I took this opportunity without hesitation. At that meet, I ran 25.52, achieving the school's season record. This motivated me to work harder and harder. This hard work translated to the Spring season, where I ran consistent 12s and a PR of 11.8 in the 100m and consistent sub 25s and a PR of 24.70 during our county (GMC) Championships in the 200m. I had also achieved my goal of receiving a Varsity Letter and being put into the Varsity team, where we went to State Sectionals. The Varsity Letter was tremendous motivation. Over the summer, I played cricket while prioritizing Track, running, and lifting on the days I did not have Cricket games and practices. I stayed consistent with my practice routines throughout the entirety of the summer while balancing Cricket. I also was an assistant Coach for an over-the-summer track/cross country fitness program through my high school directed to middle and elementary schoolers. After sophomore year started, I took the initiative in Fall season Track practices, where I led and helped my friends with their off-season training. This translated to their season openers, where they all hit a PR, including myself. By the end of the season, I hit a PR in the 55m of 6.87 and a PR in the 200m of 24.47; simultaneously, I became more knowledgeable about my weaknesses and strengths and am now training to get faster, keeping all of this in mind. I aspire to continue Track through college and beyond, continuing to put in hard work every day.