Anya Simard '25 Recruiting Profile

Hi, my name is Anya Simard, and I am from Fairbanks, Alaska. I am a Junior at Monroe Catholic High School, participating in running and Nordic skiing. Although I run for this school, I take most of my classes at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I am naturally competitive, and I always push myself in every race. Last year, I won the regional championship. 

For me, winning and achieving good results is important, but the most essential thing is my team. Last track season, I ran the 400m, which was not my best race, but because no one else on my team wanted to run it, I did. I placed third in the region and 8th at state. I believe that even if I don't agree with something, I should always put my team first.

Although athletics is important to me, academics remain my top priority. My ultimate goal is to become a veterinarian. I plan on doing this by earning a degree in biology and then going to veterinary school. 

This XC season has been my best so far, and I've managed to cut off over a minute of time from the start of the season. I credit my success to my involvement in FXC, a competitive Nordic ski team, which helped me with my summer training. However, I know that my hard work and persistence also played a significant role. I'm interested in running distance events in college, and I would love to run the 10,000-meter race on the track, which is not offered in Alaska. I am also interested in running XC.  I find that the longer the distance, the better runner I am. Nevertheless, I remain willing to run wherever my team needs me.