Mikiyas Ashenafi '25 Recruiting Profile

Coming into high school, I only ever played soccer year-round. Before the spring season, I was convinced by some of my friends who did track to join them on the team. I wasn’t that good, and I was really just interested in the conditioning for my upcoming soccer season. However, the more I showed up to practices and meets, the more I discovered my passion for running and how much I loved competing and saying to myself that I am faster than everybody else. I decided during my junior year that this is what I wanted to do in college.

During my time as a student-athlete, I have faced many ups and downs. During my freshman year, I was diagnosed with COVID and fractured my wrist, causing me to miss almost all of the championship meets. In the spring of my junior year, I suffered severe bruising above my knee in the later parts of the season, which caused me to miss an important part of my season and hindered my progress. Despite these struggles, I preserved and was still able to achieve many accomplishments, such as 3 straight outdoor division titles, and a PR in the state championship meet in which I qualified for the New England Championships. I have been extremely blessed to have competed with several extraordinary teams and athletes, and I would love to build off these experiences and continue my academic and athletic career at the collegiate level.