James Hughes '23 Recruiting Profile

Ever since I joined the Track and Cross Country team during my freshman year, it has been one of the highlights of my high school experience. I thoroughly enjoy the camaraderie involved with the sport and my love for the sport seems to grow with every season. As a part of the team, I love to bring positive energy and leadership to the program. I was the first ever non-senior to win the team's "Strongest Link" Leadership award, which speaks to my unwavering dedication to the team. People around the team would likely describe me as lighthearted for the most part, while also being serious when need be. I rarely ever miss practices, even when they're optional, and in those rare instances when I can't make it, I always make sure to match the workouts that my teammates are doing that day, sometimes even exceeding the suggested mileage when I'm on my own. Much of my life revolves around running and my motivation has stayed consistent since I started the sport. The majority of my motivation not only comes from competition and my persistent desire to PR every race, but also from my love for the sport because I really do enjoy running and bettering myself through it. Distance running is one of, if not my greatest hobby right now and I plan on continuing it in some capacity for the foreseeable future.

That said, my #1 priority heading into college is to go to a school that is both great academically and is a good fit for me personally. My ability to run at any given school will certainly play a role in deciding on whether or not I think the school is a good fit for me. While distance running is one of my passions and it would be amazing to compete in college, I am putting my education first since there will always be opportunity for me to run, whether that is on an official collegiate team or not. If there is opportunity for me to run or compete at the school I end up attending, I will 100% do so, and as stated previously, this availability will influence my inevitable college decision.