Jalen Anderson '19 Recruiting Profile

Running has always been part of my family's life.  As a young child, I watched my older brother run cross country.  My mom likes to joke about how I became fast, as her and I were always running back and forth across the fields to see my brother compete.  While I am not a long-distance runner, I still enjoy the sport as a sprinter, hurdler and jumper.   I began competing in track at the age of 7, first running for the local Y, and then I joined the Illinois Jets Track Club, whom I have ran for ever since.  I have been fortunate to be coached by amazing individuals, who not only were successful in track themselves, but also are also awesome human beings.

Through it all, these individuals helped me through a particularly difficult obstacle--an obstacle that could have destroyed my ability to participate in my passion.  5 years ago, I was diagnosed with an osteochondroma (benign bone tumor) just above my left knee on the outside of my left femur.  It was unable to be removed as it was too close to my growth plate.  An osteochondroma grows as the individual grows.  My tumor started extremely small, and by the time it was removed (summer of 2017), it was over 3 inches in length and 2 inches in depth.  Over the years as it continued to grow, I have run with my IT bands rubbing against it each and every time I ran.  The discomfort became pretty significant over the last couple of years, affecting my muscles in that leg.  Due to this, I had to take some time off during both spring track seasons in high school.  I am happy to say though that when I was running, I was competitive, and I continued to improve my times in my respective events.  I am so excited to see what I can do in future seasons now that the tumor has been removed and am happy to say I attained PRs in all of my events this 2018 spring season.

Track has taught me that I can do a lot more than I ever thought I was capable of.  It has also taught me that I can do a lot more in the future by growing as an athlete and individual.  Track has allowed me to meet many athletes from across the country by competing in both regional and national events.  I have met individuals from many different backgrounds, sharing our common passion of track and field.

My academic goals for high school are to graduate with a 3.5 grade point average or higher.  I want to continue to challenge myself, especially in the math and science fields. I hope to continue to serve my school and community through my involvement in service clubs, such as the LEO Club, whose mission is to volunteer in the community, especially working with special needs students.  My academic goals for college are to complete my studies in the major I choose, and to begin a career in my field of study.

As far as my goals for track, I look forward to helping my team in whatever way possible.  I am an extremely versatile athlete who can run in anything from sprints (100, 200, 400), hurdles (60, 110, 300) and long jump.  Because I always place my team first, I have even tried high jumping before, as the team needed points at conference.  I am willing to try new things and feel that I am very coachable, which makes me successful in the classroom and on the track. 

While I am excited for the rest of my high school career, I look forward to the next chapter of my life: continuing my personal and athletic successes at the collegiate level.  I know that with enough hard work and dedication, I will achieve any goal I set for myself, never stopping until I master the next--even more ambitious--goal.