Rachel Arwood '21 Recruiting Profile

I started running in seventh grade as a hobby and a way to stay in shape after I quit competitive gymnastics. I committed myself to bettering my endurance, my speed, and my times in meets. I wasn't immediately a track star, in fact my first year I never placed in any races. But after experiencing my first track season, I knew that I wanted to become a reliable athlete, one who could be counted on in any race and who could be a leader for my team. I began working hard after that first season and committing myself to experiencing the best track career I could! My second season, I began running well in four different races, compared to the one race I consistently ran my first season. I became known by my coaches and teammates as the athlete who quietly worked hard in practice and always delivered in meets, delivering both in races I had planned on running and as a last-minute replacement when a teammate of mine was hurt. 

In high school, as I began training with faster athletes, my times dropped quickly and immensely. I become my best when I train with athletes who are faster than I, and because of this, I never place limits on how much I can improve. My 800 time decreased from 2:55 in eighth grade to 2:36 my freshman year, and then to 2:30 my sophomore year. In my first year of high school, I really developed speed technique and an ability to kick well at the end of races, and after that year I focused on adding a strong base of mileage to also improve my endurance and become a well balanced runner. I gained a lot of experience in the 800 my freshman year, and in my sophomore year I began seriously racing the 1600 as well. My PR of 5:46 was run in my first year of running the 1600 seriously and competitively, and I am excited to work on lowering that time in my senior year. 

As a runner, a student, and a teammate, I strive to lead by example. I take workouts seriously, and I am good at remaining focused on my goals. I don't get discouraged easily, and I stay optimistic about my running, my schoolwork, and any obstacles that I may encounter. My junior season was my first year racing cross country because of previous injuries, but I worked hard, decreasing my time from 24:29 to 21:27 in one season. In the past few months, I have been working on building more endurance and gaining experience with higher mileage to run much faster than that in my senior season, and just as I always do, I am placing no limits on how much my time can improve. Coaches can always count on me to be reliable, and I am excited to experience much more improvement and run much faster times in my senior year of high school and in college!