Joanna Caro '21 Recruiting Profile

Hi, my name is Joanna Caro. I am currently 16 and a junior, but I have decided to graduate early so I'll be graduating in the Spring of 2021 as an IB student. I've been running for almost 6 years now. I started with just wanting to lose weight but I found I love for it as I turned it into a hobby. During my first year of middle school, I ran cross country and track, but after that, I only stuck with track. I dedicated myself towards the 1600m and 800m but I preferred the 800m. During my freshman year, I went out for high school Track. I was terrified to race and second-guessed myself and my ability. As the season went on, I did my best to follow my coach's workouts to my best and always listened to his advice. I found myself from being in JV to competing in the open events for varsity by the end of the season. Afterward, my coach managed to convince me to join Cross Country. Coach DeWitt tried his best to make us successful. He conducted summer morning practices and as a team, we showed up and put in the effort. As soon as cross country started I was on Varsity but then I had a fall mid-season. I was getting into bad habits and then had a minor injury that made me miss out on a race. My motivation had sunken for everything, I let my grades and times slip. I lost my place on varsity and I found it hard to get back up. After watching the girls run at Sectionals and qualify for state without me, I decided to work hard all winter and during track to get my spot and confidence back. I was seeing progress and was so excited for the track season to begin, and then that was when my teammates and I were hit with the news of the season being suspended and then canceled. During quarantine, I got my first job and I focused so much on working that I didn't dedicate much time to running. Then it was time to start getting into gear again, coach had permission to allow us to practice halfway through summer. I came to realize I had been slacking and it showed. I had gone from almost breaking 22:00 minutes to running a 25:00 minute 5k. I currently am running for Southeast Wisconsin Track Club and Case High School. I dreamed about running in college, now it's up to me to put in the effort of being that good and I'm willing to give it all I got.