Ammon Smith '23 Recruiting Profile

I'm a hard worker who is always pushing at practice. While I might not be hitting the highest mileage I am still pushing hard at practice. I'm hitting between 45 and 50 miles per week, with my highest mileage week at 70 last XC season. I learned this last track season that my body trains better on lower faster miles. Since this last track season, I feel that I have really learned how to keep the easy days easy allowing me to push harder on the hard days. Every season I consistently earn awards for hard work between Gatorade awards in the XC season and hard work flannels during the track season. 

Currently, I have lost 2 seasons of running, which has only made me work harder at practice and look forward to each season more. In my freshman year of Highschool, I tore my hip flexor and IT band in my left hip during the summer meaning that I lost all but the very end of that season, dropping off of the varsity squad with the varsity team missing state by 1 point in the districts meet. Then Covid 19 hit a week or two after that track season had started forcing the season to be canceled. Covid then carried over to last year, my sophomore year, where we had a shorter XC season with very few races, and missed the entire indoor track season. As mentioned earlier missing these seasons has only made me look forward to each new season even more.

I have lots of championship racing experience having raced in the State XC meet my sophomore year. Then racing three races in the Drake Relays during the track season. The 4x800(6th), 1600m Medley(2nd), and the 4x400(9th). Then becoming the Mississippi Valley Conference champion in the open 800m and runner up in the 4x800 and 4x400. Than another strong showing at DIstricts winning the 4x800, the open 800m, the 1600 medley, and coming in a close 6th in the 4x400m. At state I had a rough race in the 4x800(4th) after a very physical aggressive race ran by others. Than a good performance to pull the 1600m medley team into 4th place. In the open 800m I set a new PR going 2nd in heat to take 3rd place overall behind two graduating seniors.

I have set high goals for myself for the next two track seasons. I want to and believe that I can go undefeated in the open 800m for the rest of my highschool career. This next season I will be going for the school record in the indoor 800m, indoor 600m, indoor 4x800m, and the outdoor 800m. Like with going undefeated I believe that I can get these this next year. I would also love to qualify for the NSAF Outdoor Nationals as a junior. My senior year I would like to make a run for the state record of 1:50.18, aswell as making it to the NSAF Outdoor Nationals.