Editorial Note: Normally, we only do signing features on Colorado Track XC for Colorado high school athletes, but this is a special case. Ashlyn Nolan will graduate from Rock Ridge High School in Virginia this spring and has signed to compete with Colorado State University next school year. You may, however, also remember Ashlyn as the 2014 Colorado 4A Girls 100 meter hurdle champion for Discovery Canyon High School (photo, below, by Jeff McCoy). During her time in Colorado, she placed in several other state events as well.
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Ashlyn Nolan's Best Marks:
100 Meters: 12.35 (wind legal)
100 Meter Hurdles: 14.30
300 Meter Hurdles: 46.16
Long Jump: 18-4
High Jump: 5-2
Shot Put: 31-2
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When you left Colorado in the summer of 2014, did you already have it in mind to try to return here for college?
I left Colorado the summer after my sophomore year and and at that point I don't really think I had given college a lot of thought. I loved living in Colorado and knew I was going to miss it a lot, but I had never really considered going to college there.
What made the decision for Colorado State University?
I wasn't really considering CSU until I got to go out and visit in October. I got to tour the campus and meet some of the coaches, athletes and students. The longer I was there, the more I could see myself living there for the next 4 years. When it was time to leave, I didn't want to and I couldn't wait to go back. After I got home from the visit everything started to fall into place and I knew that it was the right place for me to go.
What was the hardest thing about leaving Colorado, and the best thing about being in Virginia, for you?
Leaving Colorado in general was just really hard for me, but it was my 10th move so it wasn't that big of a surprise. Still, I had a lot of really great friends and teammates and I was in the middle of high school, so saying I was sad to leave would be an understatement. But the move wasn't all bad. I got to move into a brand new high school which has been a neat experience. I've been really lucky to have some pretty amazing coaches and get a different coaching perspective. It has also been really fun to have all new competitors, and I am really lucky to have the team that I have here. They are like my second family, and I couldn't imagine the past couple years with anyone else.
A glance at your athlete profile suggests you've taken up the shot put a little more seriously since being in Virginia. How hard is it to work all that in with the hurdling, sprinting, and jumping?
I have kinda gotten used to running around from event to event, but shot put definitely made that a little more difficult. The throwing rings are usually far away from the track, making it harder to know what's going on when I'm on the track running another event. Usually when I'm throwing, it's at a smaller meet so they are a little more lenient on letting me throw in between other events, but at some bigger meets it can get a little trickier. It usually works out in the end because I'm so determined to throw at meets. I love how different it is from my other events and I don't always get to throw, so I'm always really excited when I get the chance, even if it does make meets a little more difficult to manage.
So, pick a favorite event for us…
Definitely the 100 meter hurdles. I mean I love doing all my events, and I can't imagine going to a meet and only doing one event, but if that one event was the 100 hurdles, I would probably be the least sad about not getting to do anything else.
What goals might be serving as motivation for you for the spring?
Our team had a really great season last year for being a first-year school and with most of our team returning, we are all really excited for the upcoming season. We have all be training really hard this offseason and I hope that we will all be able to push each other to be even better than we were last year.