Hunter Verplank '27 Recruiting Profile

Hi I'm Hunter Verplank, and this is a little bit about me. From 3rd grade and up I participated in the elementary, middle school, then high school cross country teams. Up until high school I didn't take it very seriously. Then as a walked up to a team I had never met as I was new to the high school I came to realize I was very bad compared to the rest of my team mates. But from the start of training camp in August to the end of the season in November my times went from a 27:31 during a practice race and that was hard for me, to a 22:01 at regionals. And this year my pr was a 20:40 even though I had been battling patellar tendonitis during that summer and first half of the season. I feel like because of my cross country experience I have built a very powerful will power. My parents specifically my mom tells me this a lot. Anything from taking colder showers to not going with my friends because I know there gonna say something or do something that doesn't align with who I want to be. I have been doing crew since the fall of my 8th grade year but only in the winter training and during the Spring season. I wasn't the fastest on the team due to lack of muscle, but I feel confident that I was the hardest worker. Not only did I work to bring the team together and build trust but I worked hard on my self. If we didn't have practice that day for whatever reason I would go for a run, or hop on the erg and do it myself. I think this all stems from my nonstop effort to master what I am doing. From Sports to games to education I want to be the best in the room and I'm not going to kick other people down to get there, Im going to build myself up and help others along the way. I heard a lot of people tell me the best people in a profession are the ones who the others think I too much or too hard and that deeply resonated with me and I try to live by that. Last year in the spring season the novice 8 I was in placed 5th at states for the first time in school history and we were 10-15 seconds off of a bronze metal. Ever since that moment I have had a burn in me to get back to qualifying for states and getting to that next step. Thanks for reading!