Niklas Anderson '21 Recruiting Profile

The main thing that sets me apart from others academically and athletically is that I refuse to quit. From a young age my dad taught me that if I ever wanted to accomplish anything in life it would not be easy, and I would have to work hard to achieve it. Early in our indoor track season I became sick with a sinus infection, and was unable to perform up to par with what I know I could do. Instead of letting this set me back, I decided to push forward with a chip on my shoulder and train harder than I had ever before. As we geared up to get back into competition I was excited to finally demonstrate how far I had come since the cross country state meet, however, the world had other plans. With the cancellation of all of our meets for the foreseeable future due to the Covid-19 pandemic, my training has only increased. I refuse to quit, even if I do not get the opportunity to race until the fall. I have increased my weekly mileage, and dedicated myself to working harder than I ever have before. Overall, what differentiates me from other athletes is my willingness to put forth whatever is needed to improve, and never back down from a challenge.

As our XC season has begun I have already made massive improvements dropping my PR time by almost 40 seconds, and I look forward to improving even more over the rest of the season. One major factor that has me extremely optimistic for the rest of the season is the fact that we have still had relatively little speed training, and the majority of my base is all strength work (Hills, Distance Runs, and Tempos).