Megan Schwartz '16 Recruiting Profile

I started running track in 9th grade, though it wasn't until my sophomore year that I really started to feel passionate about the sport. I wanted to compete in the open hurdles. Only the hurdles. But one day I was faced with a decision. Not compete in the Junior Olympic State meet (I would be out of town for the open events) or just do the heptathlon. I signed on to compete in the heptathlon. It was a huge change for me. I immediatley wanted to work on all the events and become a really good heptathlete, but I only had a week and a half. That first year was a struggle for me (especially trying my hand at the high jump) but I finished the season excited to work on all my events and continue to improve. I worked year round on my events and eventually came to my junior year of my high school season. I didn't know what events my high school coach would put me into, all I wanted was to grow and learn so I could do my heptathlon over the summer. She put me in the 100 hurdles, where I went on to pr by over 2 seconds. That season was my best high school season. But when the year was over, I immediatley transitioned into my heptathlon mode. I did 2 workouts a day to improve in the short weeks that I had left. When I looked at my results at the end of that first heptathlon of the season, I was happy that I was able to improve by almost 1000 points in only one year. 

As I continue to work towards being better at my heptathlon, there are a few areas I continue to work on. One would be the three step in the hurdles. I am happy that I am able to three step the first few hurdles at practice, but I know I have a long way to go in improving that race. Second is the high jump. I only started practicing that event recently, but have been able to improve by 4 inches. I still need to work on my form going over the bar. The third thing that I am focusing on is my 800. I have never been a mid distance or distance runner, so I had (and still continue) to do a lot of work to improve my endurance. I am still doing long interval training to get better. I have a long way to go to maximize my potential in the heptathlon, and I plan on working hard until I get there.