Savanah Beavers '21 Recruiting Profile

I was first introduced to the sport of running by my parents before elementary school. Though they weren’t naturally gifted at the sport, I looked up to them greatly due to their work ethic and sportsmanship they displayed when racing.

Soccer, basketball, swimming, and many other sports kept me busy until sixth grade, when I finally had the opportunity to join my middle school’s cross country and track & field teams. From my first race, I knew this was something I wanted to continue doing, improve at. With my strong work ethic, perfectionist tendencies, and natural endurance, running and I seemed to be made for each other.

But one cannot get better without struggle. Unaware of it for many years, as I grew older and a bit faster, my ferritin levels were dropping. Running went from an activity that made me breath air a little differently, focus more on what could be and less of what was, to one that was causing me to fall apart at the seams.

It wasn’t until my freshman year that my HS coach suggested I get blood work done. Once diagnosed, I drastically began to shift my outlook on running and life. I began to eat  and sleep more. I tool ice baths and rolled religiously. Ultimately though, none of this would be enough if I didn’t change my mindset. I realized I had to become more patient and team orientated; if I couldn’t be successful individually, I need to find a new way to help my team. That season (2017), though it wasn’t what I had imagined in the slightest, my team was able place 8th at the state meet.

To this day, this is still my proudest achievement. 8th as a team at IL XC 1A State may not be an all-conference (2018, 2019), all-regional (2018, 2019) or all-sectional (2018, 2019) performance or an 8th place individually (XC 2019) race, but that year I finally realized how sweet running can truest be if you run for others and not just for yourself.

I carried the wisdom I gained  in the 2017 XC season throughout the rest of my high school career: when I disappointingly finished only 36th at XC in 2018, when I qualified for State in track & field for the first time in 2019, when I finally achieved All-State, and when I most recently PR’d in the Mile at the IL Meet of Champions (5:30 1600m to 5:18 mile/ 5:16 1600m).

I am looking to run in college with a group of girls and for a coach who will push me to become a better person, as well as have the opportunity to expand my knowledge about the universe through rigorous academics.