Wesley Larson '21 Recruiting Profile

Running is one of the most important things in my life however, it was not always this important to me.  Before I fell in love with running I had an extreme passion for Soccer.  I played Soccer for about 4 hours everyday after school.  I would go to school practice for the Weddington High School team and then go straight from that practice to club practice with the Charlotte Soccer Academy.  I loved Soccer but there was one thing about the sport that I liked more than any other, the running.  Running in soccer was never really a punishment for me it was more of a prize.  I loved the feeling of extreme bliss I got when I pushed myself to the max beating many people on the team who were better than me at the soccer part of the sport but not the running part.

That same year I decided to tryout for the Weddington High School Track and Field team.  To make the team you had to run under a 7:30 in the 1600.  At this time I was a little nervous and didn't know if I could make the cut.  We started the race and I don't remember much after that except that, to my surprise I made the cut and made the team.  My first year I did really well.  I pushed myself in every single one of my events and got a PR at every race.  I competed with a couple of friends I made that year and we pushed each other to the 4:55-4:45 range in the 1600.  My sophomore year of High school I did the same thing, soccer in the fall and track in the spring.  Soccer my sophomore year was not as fun as it was my freshman year (I made JV and the games weren't much of a challenge since all the older players played Varsity).  I played the season and just kinda went through the motions going from school practice to club practice everyday.  After the soccer season was over I started to really get into track competing with everyone that was in my grade on the team.  I worked really hard this year and made it all the way to regional's where I ran the 3200 against some of the best guys around.  I placed 8th at this meet scoring some points for our team but did not make it to the state meet.  

During my Junior year I made a huge decision to run year round and quit soccer.  I tried out for the Cross Country team getting second at our 2 mile time trial we had at Mcalpine Creek Park.  After this race I understood that I had chosen the right sport.  I ran well this year and ran consistently second for our team getting 11th at the 3AA State meet.  

Running has changed me as a person as well.  I started running XC at my middle school in 7th grade.  Ever since then I saw a huge improvement in my grades and my work ethic.  Before I ran I used to be okay with just getting C's and not studying but once I started running I started to get straight A's. 

If I were asked to be on a college team I would work very hard for my team and train to not only make myself better but the team as a whole.  I would like to be able to run along with guys who will push me to become not only the best runner I could be but the best person I could be.  I believe that with my strong mind set, drive and determination I would be a big asset to any team.