Aiden Sellers '24 Recruiting Profile

I have been running cross country since 9th grade and have fallen in love with the sport of distance running. Running has allowed me to release stress and free my mind through troubling times throughout high school. During the past 4 years, running has given me the chance to work towards a variety of goals. From PR’s to being on varsity, I have come a long way from my first cross country race. The training, the weather, and the rough courses is what makes me love cross country. While cross country is often seen as an easy sport that anyone can do, it is an extreme physically demanding sport that requires just as much mental toughness. When I first started cross country, it was the toughest thing I had ever done in my life. Now, it is still the toughest thing that I’ve done but I have improved tremendously. As I pass each milestone I come across another mental block that I can overcome through practice and with the support of my teammates and coaches (on and off the track). This has helped me go from bottom of the totem pole to the top. I am now senior captain of the cross country team. I am going on and off between number 1 and 2 on the team. This has allowed me to become more involved with my teammates, especially the younger and less experienced ones. I have been able to teach these kids new things about running like how to pace yourself during a race which is a vital tool to know as a runner. Learning how to pace myself is what has helped me succeed as a runner. This has eventually led to many new PR’s and goals achieved throughout the years I’ve been running. After every goal I surpass I make a new one to help push me forward to meet that goal. In college I am hoping to surpass many goals like breaking 15 minutes in a 5k to potentially breaking 4 minutes in the mile. Although research has shown that you mainly run 8k’s and 10k’s in college, I believe that this will hopefully allow me to experience these new and longer races which could tremendously improve my running skills. Running has definitely changed my life for the better and will hopefully continue to change my life throughout college and beyond.