Bella Chirafisi '21 Recruiting Profile

I love running but up until this year, my junior year, I only ran 8  weeks/year, solely during track season.  I have been a year round competitive swimmer (since 8 years old) and was on my high school's varsity state championship team my freshman and sophomore year.  I also competed at state/national swim meets with my club team year round.

But I couldn't deny that my love for running was taking over.  And even with running just a few months a year, I found that I could be very competitive.  So, this year I made the change and went out for my high school cross country team instead of the swim team.    I have loved it!  My mom asked me the other day if I had a "passion" for anything in life and after a minute I answered "running".   Yes I love it for the genuine team connection and for the stress relief and all of that, but I'm also a very competitive person.   If you ask any of my coaches over the years in swimming or running, I will assure you that they will tell you that I'm a very hard worker and that I am very competitive.    I expect a lot of myself.    My GPA and leadership roles throughout the past few years will back that up.

I want to continue my passion for running at a collegiate level.   I am very interested in cross country and track and field programs.    I am also open to collegiate traithlon programs as well.  I started doing triathlons this past summer and will be joining an elite triathlon team in the spring of 2020.   With my success in swimming and running, I have been very comfortable and successful in the triathlons I have completed.  I am very excited to spend my Jr. year pursuing a college that supports both my running and academic goals.