Freshman Year

My freshman year of college was a rough year, which I did not expect. I was going into college with excitement and high expectations for the track. Little did I know I would finish off the year drained and disappointed. 

Transitioning to college from high school is a lot in itself, so imagine adding athletics. I was recruited to run the 400-meter dash and 200-meter dash as well as the long jump. Fall training was going well and it was new and exciting. I was learning the ins and outs of handling classes, practice, and weights. 

About two weeks before our indoor conference meet, I transitioned from a 400/200 runner to a heptathlete. For those of you who do not know a heptathlete competes in seven events over the span of two days. These events are high jump, long jump, 200-meter dash, 800-meter run, shot put, javelin, and the 100 hurdles. I never competed in the high jump, javelin, or shot put in high school, so learning these events was challenging. Learning these events a couple weeks before competing in our indoor championship was very nerve-racking, but I trusted my coaches. At the 2019 Indoor Championship, I placed 10th in the pentathlon(for indoors we compete in five events instead of seven). While I was disappointed in my place, I knew I had so much room to grow and develop as a heptathlete. I was excited about this. 

As we transitioned to the outdoor season, I felt better knowing I would have more time to perfect my events. I began to really enjoy javelin and hurdles. Our outdoor championship took place in Utah, so begin able to travel was another thing I was looking forward to. At the outdoor championship, I placed 8th in the heptathlon. While I am happy that I was able to score points for our team, there was a lot of progress that needed to be made in my events. As a track and field athlete, the goal at conference meets is to place top 8 to score points for your team to have a chance at winning the championship. Begin able to contribute to my team's success was reassuring, but I wanted to help them out more. 

This journey of transitioning from a 400/200 runner to a multi was filled with a lot of highs and a lot of lows. The hardest part was being able to surpass the feelings of disappointment and fill that with motivation. After placing 8th at the outdoor conference, a spark was lit inside me. I was ready to come back next season to help my team hopefully win a championship ring.