Personal Statement
My name is Brynn Harshbarger, and I am a Senior at Morgantown High School in Morgantown, WV. I have run track and cross country since sixth grade and have always loved it. In seventh grade, I quit basketball (which I played since kindergarten) to focus on running and began to run all year round. In middle school, my biggest accomplishments were winning our biggest meet, county meet, and setting the two mile record in track (12:16).
I have been a musician since kindergarten, but I had to make some sacrifices this year to focus more on cross country. I quit marching band and wind ensemble, but still play in the jazz band. This was a difficult decision for me since music has always been a part of my life. Last year, as a Junior, my cross country team placed first in the state meet. In track season, I led my 4*800 team to a second place finish at the state meet with a time of 9:41 and won the 3200. This year in cross country, I was the captain of our girls varsity. My coach, Mike Ryan, talks about my leadership in an interview called "Team Chemistry." "..I look at somebody like Brynn. She set the tone very early for the direction this team could go."
I still have many goals left to accomplish in high school, but one goal of mine is to run in college and to be on the varsity. I also want to improve my times a lot in college (for example, running under 18minutes for a 5k). I also want to keep up a positive attitude and help encourage my teammates.
I have done some college visits and have looked at small schools so far, but I would like to visit some larger schools as well. I am considering majoring in biology and studying animals, but I am still undecided.