Mali Stermer '23 Recruiting Profile

Sports have always been something that brought me serotonin and excitement. I started as a swimmer and gave that a couple of years before taking up soccer which has consumed a number of years of my life. My sister (4 years older than me) left for college to be a pole vaulter while I was starting my freshman year. At first, track and field intimidated me and I almost backed out of giving it a shot. But, the minute I was immersed in the track culture and met some amazing people there I immediately fell in love. My freshman season ended before it even started due to Covid. Although, my sophomore season came around and I was nothing but absolutely pumped. I tried out long jumping and knew it was for me but didn't figure out until later in the season that triple jump was also something that I could really thrive in. In between my sophomore and junior year, I narrowed my vision and started training with a private coach to close the head start that other athletes had on me since I was newly introduced to track. Since then I've been working hard and focusing on achieving new goals and hitting new marks each week. I've used the skills that I learned from being a team player on the soccer field to support my other teammates in track and field along the way. I've always been told by coaches that I'm super coachable and willing to adjust. I'm also a positive person that wants everyone to do well, but I have a very competitive side that wants to not only win but be the best person and athlete that I can be. Outside of sports, I'm also an advocate and a hard worker, I do a lot of work with a service group called Water 1st International that fights against the water crisis and helps people in foreign countries gain access to clean water. My friends and family most often describe me as a passionate, likable, and well-rounded person.