What was you most memorable meet or race?
My most memorable meet would be Cross Country sectionals my freshman year. It had just rained the night before so the course was a complete mud mess. Some of the runners around me were running and sliding down the hills in the mud and it was the most fun I had during a race all season.
Who was your biggest competition?
My biggest competition is probably my dad. We would do our weekend runs together and the last 100m of any run would be a dead sprint to see who could finish first. Also I used my dads accomplishments in high schools as goals of what I wanted to beat. The place he got at state and the meets he qualified for were what I wanted to be better than. Now that I've technically placed better than him in some of those meets, I have a lot of fun teasing him even though I know he could beat me anytime he feels like it.
Out of all your high school accomplishments, which stands out the most?
Out of all of high school, my biggest accomplishment was getting 25th at State Cross Country my senior year. I had been injured so many times that by the end of my junior year I didn't even think qualifying for state my senior year would have been a possibility.
If you could do it all over again is there anything you would change?
If I could do it all over again, I would have ran track my freshman year instead of playing soccer. Soccer was fun, but having the experience of a freshman track season would have been more beneficial in the long run.
What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
My most difficult obstacles were that it seemed to be that I could never complete a season uninjured. Throughout high school, I had tendinitis, shin splints, a potential stress fracture, ankle issues, a shortened IT band, and then ran half a season not knowing I was anemic. This also took out training in my off season because I was in physical therapy 3 different times.
What will you miss the most?
I will miss the people the most. My teammates were a lot of fun, and we all supported each other. But also the competition, we all respected each other, and although we had to race each other, we were proud of each others accomplishments.
Do you have any advice for younger athletes?
Advice for younger athletes would be to never doubt yourself and always try your hardest.
What are your college plans?
Next year I will be attending Mizzou. I'll be running track and cross country for them and I plan to study Physical Therapy.
Who would you like to thank?
I would like to thank my parents, because they never let me give up and always kept me motivated. I would also like to thank my coaches, especially the insane Coach Banta. He always puts his track and cross country kids first no matter what else is going on. He was the best coach I could have gotten and I will really miss him next year.
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