William McLay '24 Recruiting Profile

In the Spring of 2021, I was depressed. I was two thirds through my Freshman year of high school, we were over one year into a global pandemic, I was suffering academically from remote learning and my social life was nonexistent. My dad encouraged me to sign up for Spring Track, and my primary motivation for joining the team was to avoid a fight with him. Less than one week into the program, I felt as though I had found my calling, it was as though track was a missing piece in my life that I had just discovered. As each week went by and my PR's continued to roll in, I grew more and more in love with the sport. It wasn't just the personal accomplishments that I was experiencing, but also the joys of working out and competing with a team. The social interactions I was able to have on the Varsity Track team as a Freshman, gave me a confidence in my personal life that I never knew before. Track literally changed my life.

I completed my Sophomore year with Winter and Spring seasons under my belt; and I can honestly say that my love for the sport hasn't waned. This year on the team, I took great pride in not only beating my previous season PR's, but also contributing to the team relay events. There's nothing I love more than the pressure of getting the baton for the last leg, knowing my team may be behind, but that I can take us over the finish line first, or at least place when we didn't think we would. I love training with the team everyday and then supporting my teammates from the sidelines on meet days. To me, track is the perfect sport that allows you to compete against your biggest competitor, yourself, but also, be a part of a bigger team with diverse talents and experiences. 

In my Junior year Indoor season, I really came into my own. I lowered the school record in the 55m by 0.25s, helped set a new school record in the SMR, and made it to both the state and national championships. For my hard work and contributions to the team, including running many relays, I was awarded Most Valuable Athlete. I followed this up with an amazing Outdoor season where I broke the 55 year-old 100m record, and contributed to new school records in the SMR, DMR, and 4x100m. Once again, I was able to run at both the state and national championships.

I'm looking forward to bringing my passion, my work ethic, and my team building skills to the college level where I hope to not only grow personally but enhance the team I am fortunate enough to compete with. I have come so far in such a short period of time, and I know that in the right program, there's no limits to what I can continue to accomplish and contribute to a team.