John Bolinger '22 Recruiting Profile

I first and foremost am looking to better myself academically and to focus on my schoolwork first, as we are student-athletes and the student comes first. I am looking to either go into law, medicine or business, most likely majoring in one of the three and minoring in another (to make the most of my college experience). Athletically, I am looking at making myself better and the team that I come too. I joined the Spartanburg High School Viking Cross Country team in my7th grade year, quickly making my way to the top group and running on varsity for several races. The following year I returned to cross country (not a real track season my 7th grade year) and became a constant varsity athlete. I competed both cross country and track my 8th grade year. With the first year of high school I became one of the top runners on the team, but was held back from that year’s potential from bronchitis. I struggled with breathing races and sadly dropped out of several races. I came back ready for the track season and had a much more solid track season. My sophomore and junior years I was the top athlete, but was also a captain. I lead the team with leadership, experience, but also from athleticism. I encouraged all the runners around us and the team became better together. My sophomore and junior season the team qualified for state for cross country, and I placed in the top 15 for All-State. I also got All-Region and All-County that season. But, the team came 4th even after several injuries at the end of the year. The following year in my junior season the team finished 3rd in a stacked field of runners. I got all the previous honors again (All-County, All-Region, All-State). But the team also beat Dorman the 4 straight 5A boys state champions on their home turf at our county, starting with a 1-2 victory from the Vikings. I led the team to that county victory, but sadly we could not beat Dorman again at the state meet. Yet our success did not end in the cross country season. We managed to progress as a team that did not qualify two years prior to come 3rd, but we also showed our progress in track. We trained hard all track season and we narrowly lost in the state championship in the 4x800. We lost by a second, running a sub-8 time. Although we came 2nd, the training that I encouraged showed in one of my teammates who boasted a 1:55 to win the solo 800. I would be a good candidate for the team that I join because of my competitive nature and my ability to push those around me. I push myself to be better than myself, but also those around me. I also push the people around me to be better versions of themselves and to be competitive to make the team as strong as possible. I think I am different from other recruits because of my ability to grow. I think that I have the ability to grow to the level of whatever athlete I am training with, especially if they are the best in the state. But what sets me apart even more is that once I’ve reached that level I keep pushing. I find new ways to get better, such as having pacers on bikes or have by teammates rotate out so that it makes the workouts more challenging. Academically and athletically, I think I stand out because of all that I do. I have strong grades and am a member of three varsity sports for my high school,  but also play club soccer. I have kept good grades through having two practices a day just about every night of the week, but on top of this I am an Eagle Scout and constantly help out my troop and seek out more service work. On top of this, I am apart of two orchestras - my school‘s top class orchestra and the school’s even more rigorous club orchestra. Through all of these extracurriculars I still find the time to complete all my work on time and to train and rest properly to stay at the athletic level I am at. I think that with all that I have combined and done is what sets me apart as a student athlete that would help out the team that I join.