Madelyn Rasmussen '24 Recruiting Profile

I am looking for a school where I am able to grow into the adult that I hope to be and be part of an athletic team where I am challenged and appreciated for what I have to give. My main areas of study are still a little up in the air but nursing, criminal Justice, and psychology are three majors that I am considering.

I can contribute on a team most by being my teammates' cheerleader along with being competitive within my disciplines. Since 5th grade, I was on a competitive Cheer-Leading team until High School. We won State every year except once and my coach stressed that the most important thing for us was to make sure we support each other and be there in case someone falls (literally and figuratively)! I keep that close to my heart as I race against other girls or are in line for jumping whether they are on my team or not. I give them all a smile, high five them when they hit their jump, or offer encouragement if they scratch. This helps me focus on my own race or jump as it makes me be conscious of what is happening around me and sometimes they even share if their mark was off with the wind or if the something feels weird. This simple act of kindness only takes a second but people remember it and I now have friends from many schools around the state. 

I know that I am not the fastest or can jump the furthest yet, but I push myself in practice and in meets to improve on my times and distances. In 2023, as a Junior, I was named the Sprints and Jumps Captain of my HS team by the Head Coach. As the Captain, I led my girls in practices and at meets and ended the season being asked to "Coach" my Freshman Jumper who qualified for State in which she beat my best jump by several inches. She ended up PRing at State and earned 15th as the only Freshman qualifying! This was a humbling experience as I had beaten my Upper-Classman last year in the Triple Jump, so the shoe was on the other foot this year and I learned a lot about how to support someone you train with every day even when they start to outshine you. This also motivates me for next season and I have committed more time in the gym and with my Trainer at XLR8 Sports Training so that I can keep up with her and she and I both can qualify for State in the Triple Jump and our relays together.

My results in 2023 were an improvement over last year. I beat my PR's in the 200m, Triple Jump, Long Jump, 4x200m and 4x100m relays. I started the season on the relay team as the Lead, as I had the most block experience, but I taught others on how to improve their posture and weight/balance in the blocks. At the end of the season, I was able to move to the anchor leg and we ended up beating our 2022 times in both relays and missed qualifying for state in the 4x100 by .23 of a second but we did beat our HS record, set in 2005, by 1/100th of second! We have 3/4 of the team returning next season so we will crush it!

I hope to be part of a college team where I can be challenged and be able to push others to do the same. My parents have instilled in me a service-leader mindset and I like to be in places where I may be uncomfortable as I believe that it makes me a better person. To see more videos and results from 2023, see my X (Twitter) page @MaddyJumps.