By Taylor Boggs ’16, Sports Editor
Five seniors have something in common: their college careers will be dedicated to athletics. Seniors Shelley Menifee, Katie Barton, Hanna Gottschalk, Patrick Wildman, and Elijah Engelke have all committed to play sports next year in college.
Whether a student is in Division I or in Division III, playing sports in college is a very big commitment. Menifee, who will be running track at Northern Kentucky University, said that for her, “It is going to take a lot of commitment and time management.” Practice schedules can be very hectic. For example, hers will consist of “two practices a day—one running and one lifting.”
Not only do the athletes have to stay committed to training, they also have to stay on top of their schoolwork and balance academics with athletics. Barton, who will be attending Dickinson College, will play lacrosse in a “’fall ball’ league” as well as “working out every day and attending captains practices.” And that is just the off-season.
Some athletes train for their whole lives to play in college while some decide in their last year of high school. Menifee is going to be running track all for years at NKU and she believes that “If [Country Day] didn’t require sports, [she] probably would have never started running track. Basketball was always [her] thing.” This is the same for many of the rowers—they didn’t begin to row until they were in high school because it is not a sport that is often offered to students.
Barton on the other hand has “always wanted to play lacrosse in college.” She believes that it has helped her grow as both a student and an athlete. “I have met so many great people who have given me so many opportunities, and I just can’t imagine my college experience without it.” Barton, like Menifee, will be playing lacrosse throughout her entire college career. Menifee believes that the hardest part of being involved in the athletics program is going to be “staying on top of work while traveling,” and “the competition is going to be much tougher” than it has been in high school. But although she is
nervous, she is looking forward to “meeting new people and joining the track family.”Similar to her classmate, Barton believes that “it will be a big adjustment being away from home,” but she is “so ready to start a new chapter” in
her life.
Upon starting her college career, Menifee wants to qualify for post season competitions both regionally and nationally: “I want to PR in the events that I run.” She believes that her senior year will be much less stressful because she already knows where she is going. “I get to enjoy my last high school season,” she said, “However I do need to start lifting more and strengthening my body for the next level.” Barton’s long term goals include “dominating [her] conference” and “successfully competing against other division three schools such as Gettysburg and Haverford.” As her senior year comes to an end, she “will definitely be pushing [herself] more when working
out, but [she] will still need to make sure that [she] is healthy going into school and that [she] does not get injured over the summer.”
