Name: Camryn Nichols
School: Mountain View High School
What was your most memorable race/throw/jump/vault/moment?
There are a few races I will never forget. Cross country regionals my senior year, where I qualified individually for state, both of the winter park meets my team competed at where the courses were extremely hard and one year placing 10th overall, when I broke six in the mile for the first time and lastly, when I PRed in the mile my freshman year.
Who would you consider your biggest competition over your four years?
My biggest competition was myself mentally and my teammates from middle school who went to another school.
What was your greatest accomplishment?
My greatest accomplishment was making it to state individually as a senior after a really disappointing few years of being on the verge of making it.
If you could do it all over again what would you change about your career in high school?
I would change my perspective on running and change my attitude when I wasn't performing the way I was hoping.
What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
The most difficult obstacle I faced throughout my career was an injury. I suffered a recurring shin injury all four years of competing and I constantly had to manage my pain and alter workouts so I was able to still compete.
What will you miss the most?
I will miss the team who became my family and all the fun times we had together. We see each other at our best and worst and because of this we are close and will always be a family.
What advice would you give to younger athletes?
I would say do your best and never give up. This is kinda cheesy, but definitely true. Also hang out with your team and be friends with them, it will make the experience so much better.
What influence has your coach had with respect to your performance and overall life goals?
My coaches have always believed in me and known my potential and have pushed me to achieve my goals. Even in the midst of injury, they still wanted me to reach goals and expectations, which made me a better person because I learned to never give up, even when it was hard.
What are your college plans?
In college I plan to pursue a career in Speech Language Pathology at Wyoming. Although I don't plan to run for UW, I want to continue running.
Who would you like to say 'thank you' to?
I would like to say thank you to my family for being at every single meet, my coaches for always pushing me to reach my goals, my team for always being there and being a family to me, and finally I want to give credit where credit is due and thank God for giving me the ability to run and make an impact on my team.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
I'm not going to lie and say running cross country and track is easy, but for all the hard work, pain, time, and effort put in to the sport, it is 100% worth it! I would not have changed anything about the sports I chose to participate in because of the life long experience, memories and friends. I am so happy to have had a great final season of cross county and I am so sad I won't be able to have a full final track season, but I am very thankful for the seasons I was able to run.