Sydney Pilla '23 Recruiting Profile

Throughout my experiences on all of my teams, whether it be skiing or running, I have often been told that I am extremely coachable. I always strive to be persistent and train hard, oftentimes being the first athlete on the field and the last one off the field. 

When I was in middle school, I would dread running, oftentimes almost coming in last in my races. After training as a freshman on Austin Prep's cross country team to get in shape for ski season and realizing that I might have potential, I worked my way up to varsity freshman year, which showed me that I'm capable of more than I thought I was. If you told younger me that I ran eleven miles for fun, I would've told you that you were insane. What started as an outlet to get in shape for ski season turned into what I think is my biggest passion yet.  

Running has helped shape me as a person and showed me that I can do so much more than I think, giving me the opportunity to prove myself to my present self, but also to my younger self who never would've believed any of this would be possible. I've made so many friends and memories during my time as a runner, and can't wait to make so many more in college. 

To me, college is a chance to enhance my running capabilities and academic strengths, but also to find like-minded people like me and motivate each other to be our best selves, which is one of the reasons I love being on a team so much.