Photo by Aleyce Odenthal of Ah-Ha-Vah Photography
What was you most memorable meet or race?
My most memorable race by far was Sectionals this year. One of my high school track goals was to make it to state, and by giving it my all in my 800m race I made that happen. It was a very emotional race and one I will never forget.
Who was your biggest competition?
There's no single person I always ran with or against, but many great runners who pushed me to do my best and race faster. But for everyone, I believe the biggest competition lies within ourselves. We are only capable of doing what we believe we can do.
Out of all your high school accomplishments, which stands out the most?
Making it to State in both Cross and track my senior year. It was an awesome feeling being able to represent Seckman in Jeff City and just being able to say I raced with the best of the best runners in Missouri.
.If you could do it all over again is there anything you would change?
If there's anything I could change, I wouldn't have waited until my junior year to join cross country and run on the distance track team. Joining the XC team was one of the best decisions I've ever made.. I just wish I would've made it sooner.
What will you miss the most?
My parents not being at every meet or race. They were always my number one fans and always cheering me on and supporting me.
Also, I'll miss the friendships and bonds that were made throughout these past couple of years. Without these meets and races I wouldn't have met all these incredible runners i now call my friends. It's really awesome to see how close we all got and how we support each other and cheer for one another even though we might be rivals on the track or course.
What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
Not having a track this year was a big one... We'd always have to drive to Windsor or Fox to do speed workouts. Graciously they let us share it with them, but that was definitely a draw back...
Do you have any advice for younger athletes?
My advice would be to never doubt yourself. You don't know what you're capable of, so just always give your all. Set a goal, and do all you can to reach it. And never let people tell you that you can't do something. If they do, just prove them wrong.
What are your college plans?
I will be attending and continuing my running career at Southwest Baptist University while majoring in elementary education.
Who would you like to thank?
First and most importantly I give all glory to God. I thank Him for giving me a love and passion for this sport and giving me the strength I need to run every race.
Next, I'd like to thank my Coaches and parents for talking me into running cross country and for always believing in me, pushing me to do my best, always being there for support, and for taking their time to help me improve.
Lastly,I'd like to thank several runners who played a major role in keeping me focused on my goals, provided encouragement, and provided insight from both a technical and mental standpoint. And I thank them all for the great runs together and the friendships that were made.
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: invert none 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;">Want to be featured in our Salute To Seniors series? Email PEverett@milesplit.com and answer the questions above! Congratulations to the seniors on all their hard work and success.</em><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;"> </span></p> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 12px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p> </p>