Life as an Athlete
NCAA Division 1 Student Athlete
My Life as a Runner
When I was in middle school my dad, a physical education teacher at the high school down the road decided to bring me into class to run the mile with his students. With my tiny 4 foot 9 inch frame it must have looked like a circus with myself standing next to the seniors in the class, many of whom towered over me by a foot. We were running the mile “race,” around the baseball field on campus as the school didn’t have a track facility. I was excited but also nervous to run with the older kids, some of which were on the cross country team and would be a tough challenge. My dad yelled go and we tore across the grass outfield lifting our knees high as the tall grass had not been cut in what seemed like weeks. After the first lap, I found myself out ahead of everyone floating along at a quick yet surprisingly comfortable pace. Before I knew it the five laps had been completed. I had beaten everyone in the class that day many of whom were eight years older than me and even more in maturity. This run was the start of my journey into the world of cross country and track.
High School
My journey into high school athletics started out in a small town 20 minutes from the Long Island Sound in East Haddam, Connecticut. As a freshman, I was incredibly small in stature but my God-given talent made up for it on the course and track. With my dad coaching me I placed 16th in our conference champions and 18th at the Connecticut state championships in 2012. A solid start to my career but I was never satisfied. Following a move ten hours south to the state of Virginia I continued my pursuit of something I had set my mind to while still in middle school, a state title. My sophomore year was underwhelming despite an all-state 12th place finish in cross country, I headed into my junior year reinvigorated, ready to see how fast I could run. In the 2014 VHSL state championships, I placed third a solid performance after an injury sidelined me for a few weeks prior to the race. However, in 2015 I came back as the number one seed and won finally achieving the goal I had set out to accomplish many years before. In addition to this, I also won two state titles in the 3200 meter run in indoor and outdoor track and field. My marks had been set and the only next thing was to step up the level of competition and compete at the NCAA division one level.
College
We can just skip the first two years of my college career. It took me a long time to adjust to the rigors of competing at the NCAA division one level. The competition was on another level than high school and it took me time to change my high school mentality of thinking I would win or at least be able to run with the front pack at every meet. Following this realization, I buckled down ready to work harder than ever towards another lofty goal of winning a conference title. At the 2019 Big South Championships I lined up in the steeplechase as the number one seed ready to achieve yet another goal I had long before set out to accomplish. I ended up winning the race and claimed the first big victory of my college career. In 2020 I redshirted the fall cross country season and in order to maintain my eligibility for a fifth year at CSU. With the cancellation of all athletics until the spring of 2021, I was ready to get back on the course and race my final year as a Buccaneer. At the conference championships that year I won an individual as well as a team title in cross country and earned a bid to the national championships in Stillwater, Ok.
2021 Documentary
The 2021 season documentary is now here! The documentary tells the story of the CSU Cross Country team and their rise in the Big South Conference over the past five years. If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching it yet, click the link below!