Sammie Blaumeiser '25 Recruiting Profile

I want to introduce myself to prospective Coaches looking for a self-motivated, disciplined, coachable, and focused runner who specializes in mid to long-distance events. I have high ambitions for my future as a runner, as well as professionally. I believe I will be a strong addition to any collegiate team I will go on to compete for. 

My competitive aspirations go well beyond college, as I would like to eventually run professionally and coach. Because of this, I try my best to remain a student of the sport and open myself up to learning as much as I possibly can. I am dedicated to becoming the best I am capable of being and try to push my boundaries to open myself for growth and improvement. My goal is to find a successful and competitive program where I can be challenged while I develop and refine my skills. 

Even though I have been competing as a runner since I was very young, and have always loved the high I would feel after a good workout or race, I didn’t begin becoming as serious about it as I currently am until late middle to early high school. It was then that I started discovering that I not only appreciated the physical and emotional aspects the sport provided me, but I also began understanding and honing in on the mental lessons I was learning and applying to my life along the way. This is when I stopped trying to juggle both XC and volleyball in the same season, and decided to pour myself into pursuing my running aspirations. This decision was hard because I had played volleyball since I was nine years old and had become the captain for both my XC and Volleyball teams throughout middle school.

There is nothing quite like running. It has allowed me to discover so much about myself, challenging my limits and expanding my boundaries. The sport forces people to become vulnerable and honest with ourselves. It is the single most influential activity in my life, which is why when challenges develop, in any aspect of my life, I know that I am able to overcome them. 

The PR times you will see associated with me are ones from my freshman track and sophomore XC seasons. I entered high school as a competitive varsity runner, immediately accumulating points for both the XC and track programs competing in all varsity level meets. Additionally, I was a key contributor to the 4x800 and 4x400 relay teams and would run anything  in distance from a 400 to 1600m throughout my freshman track season. 

As a sophomore, I would be the top 1-2 finisher for my team throughout my second XC season. And for track, I would run competitively in anything from the 400 to a 3200m, and again was a key member of the 4x800 relay. 

It wasn’t until during indoor track season during my junior year, that I discovered that more than likely I was running for over a year with stress fractures on both of my tibias. This caused me to step back from competing to immediately address my injuries and work on rehab during my indoor and outdoor junior track seasons to be ready for going into my senior XC season this upcoming fall.

Many offered me condolences and suggested that I try to keep my head up. But I don’t give into the negatives and grief that I could’ve allow myself to be feel this last season. I didn’t and don’t feel sorry for myself. I have always believed that I am put into situations to grow from, with this situation being one of them. Instead of looking at my injury as a set-back, I am choosing to consider it a SET-UP for my future. I know when I come back from this injury, I will be better and stronger than in my past. I’m controlling the controllables and staying focused on my long-term athlete development. 

I have aspirations to become a coach and eventually a motivational speaker and writer. I enjoy listening to motivational podcasts in my spare time and while working out and whenever my teammates are facing challenges, I research quotes to send to them and reach out to offer words of support to keep them reassured and motivated. Encouragement of others to stay optimistic and to trust the process has always been something natural for me to offer my teammates and others.

Academically, I plan to study leadership/coaching, along with kinesiology and sport psychology while in college. I know that the challenges I face as an athlete, and throughout my life, will make me more successful in both my personal and professional pursuits and help me become stronger as a competitor and teammate. I hope to utilize my degrees while working with elite collegiate and professional athletes. I want to learn from and help them to find ways to be the benchmark for success in all aspects of their lives, not just sports.

I know that my work ethic and mental strength that is being showcased throughout my rehabilitation process through cross training activities is reason for me to remain focused and confident in all I will achieve once I’m released to return to running. 

Throughout my recovery, I have been doing weekly rehab work with my Physical Therapist and doing my PT exercises daily. I do six days of cross training with an added day of rest required by my physician. My weekly routine includes cycling, aqua running, elliptical, and swimming, as well as weightlifting, core exercises and band work. I try to match these workouts with the same intensity that my coach has the distance runners doing.

As a former triathlete, volleyball, soccer, and water polo player, I appreciate the skills and benefits that cross training adds to my athleticism. I know with great confidence that my best running times and moments are in front of me. I continue to work with strength and conditioning coaches, trainers, a sports nutritionist and sports psychologist, just as I did before my injury. My dedication to my goals and my teammates hasn’t changed just because I’m injured. 

I’ve used this time while I’m unable to compete to become even more involved in the mentorship, coaching, and encouragement of my teammates. Currently this season, I attend meets for both JV and Varsity, while still remaining dedicated to my injury recovery activities. Additionally, I have stepped into assist the Middle School Track program and have begun building meaningful relationships with the eighth grade runners who will become my teammates next fall during my senior XC season. I am doing everything I can to contribute to the programs I’ve grown up in, trying to continue to lead by example and offer support for my team’s and program’s success.

I believe that with my natural athleticism (as demonstrated with a strong showing early in my high school years) paired with my determined and dedicated drive for becoming the best version of myself, along with my coachability and dedication, I can be a big contributor, both physically and through leadership, to a collegiate program (at any level) from the moment I step foot on campus.