Thomas Schmiedicke '22 Recruiting Profile

I only began running track and XC in high school three seasons ago.  During those seasons, my race volume has been limited by COVID.  Despite this, I continue to set PR’s in almost every race I run, and as such, I don’t really know what my full potential could be.  For example, during my 2021 track season, I ran a total of 12 races at distances from 3200m to 400m, and I set PR’s in 10 of those races.  

I am a dedicated runner who loves to train, and I spend additional hours every week with a private instructor, Jay Mathis, working on strength, form, and speed.  Jay has put a number of track, XC, football, and soccer athletes on college teams, and my work with him over the last 8 months has benefited me greatly.  As an example, at the TN State Championship, I anchored our 4x400 team to a 5th place finish, where I ran a 51-second split, at a distance I have never trained for or even raced until 3 weeks prior.

I think that my best races will end up being the 1500m and the 800m, but I am not sure what my future will hold.  However, I know my versatility will be a benefit to almost any college team.  My goals for my next races are as follows:

XC 5k: 16:20 (I know that I can achieve  this time based on my 3200m pr this track season. My ability to perform will be determined by the conditions that I run in, not my fitness)

400m: sub 50 (I know that with focused training that I could easily bring my time down by a second, but I do not expect to focus on this event)

800m: 1:59

1600m: 4:25

3200: 9:40

More important than achieving these times, I want to win  Regionals in all of the events that I run and finish top 3 at the Tennessee State Championships in each event as well.  I feel these goals are very achievable, and I hope that you will follow my results next year, which I will update here.

I am also a strong student who will meet entrance requirements for any school, and who will earn academic scholarships at most schools.  I have 4.58 weighted GPA and will finish high school having taken 9 AP classes.  I am in the National Honor Society and scored a 34 on the ACT.  My dedication, focus, and determination, towards both academics and athletics, are what will separate me from others during my college career.