Colin McClowry '21 Recruiting Profile

Hi! I’m Colin McClowry, a 5’11”, 170 lb Sprinter/Mid-Distance runner. I live in Neenah, Wisconsin, and go to Neenah High School, which is D1 (Large Schools). I only started running high school track sophomore year because I played Baseball freshman year, but making the switch was the right decision. Throughout all the sports I have played in my life, I have found Track and Field to be the most rewarding. 

In high school, I also play Football which is something I’m very committed to. My dad was a college football player and coached college football, so football has been a part of my life since childhood. I work year-round to be the best I can be, and football has made me physically stronger and stretched my mental toughness and competitive edge. I am open to playing football in college as well, I always want to get the most out of something I put a lot of work into, so I would want to make sure its the right program. But for Track, the feeling of chasing down someone in a relay or being the first to cross the finish line is incomparable to anything else in sports and I know it’s something I want to continue in college. One of my favorite parts of Track is the team spirit and culture. A lot of people think of Track as an individual sport, but the team aspect of Track is so important to me. There are a lot of difficult times in track when you’ve had a bad meet or feel too tired to run, but having those teammates that will pick you up is essential as well as being that teammate to others.

In school, I take advanced classes and always try to challenge myself. I’m undecided about my major, but I love to write. I have always been most comfortable with reading and writing and see myself using these skills somewhere in the future. To me, academics are more important than sports. Sure I don’t enjoy school as much as running but I know I’ll need to find something I love to do outside of Track. I strive to be the best I can be in the classroom to set myself up for success in the future. 

I came into my first year of Track with really no idea what to expect. I knew I would be a sprinter but I didn’t know what role I would have. I found out quickly as I was penciled in to run the 4x100 and 4x200 in our first indoor meet. I even ended up running in the 4x400 after an injury to one of my teammates. From that point, I was running those 3 events for the majority of the season. We achieved a lot of success as our 4x200 and 4x400 teams were all-conference in the same conference as the team state champions. I was consistently getting 22.0-23.0 sec splits in the 4x200 and my best 4x400 split was 50.5 sec. Our 4x400 team made it to State and we even qualified for finals at State. Going to State was one of my goals and being there was better than I could have imagined. My sister went to state twice for high jump when she was in high school and ever since watching her there, I knew I wanted to compete in that atmosphere. I have lofty goals and I look forward to going back to state this upcoming year as well as competing in some individual events in addition to relays. 

*update after junior year*

I was extremely disappointed to have my junior season canceled (due to COVID) and for a while, I was in a very negative headspace. Something that helped motivate me through those hard months was working out and staying in shape. I love working out with my teammates but having to lift and run by myself in quarantine, I found myself getting in the best shape I've ever been in. With that, I am disappointed I haven't gotten a chance to reap the rewards of my hard work (Winning track meets) but I'm optimistic about my future. I believe the school I end up committing to will get a student-athlete that isn't afraid to put in the hard work and do all the little things that separate those who are average from those who are special. Hopefully, my performance in my senior season in the months of May and June proves that. 

Thank you for taking the time to get to know me! I hope you will consider me to represent your school as both a student and an athlete. -Colin McClowry