Interview with SHS Track Athlete Adyson Burnham
Welcome back to Off the Reels! This spring athlete just finished her high school track career as one of the best track athletes Springboro has had to date.
Meet SHS Track Athlete Adyson Burnham…
Track story:
Addy has always had a great sense of speed ever since she was little. In elementary school, she would ask everyone to race her and that’s when she first noticed her love to run and compete. A lot of her family grew up running track as well, and their knowledge and support really helped her become the runner she is today.
Position on the team:
Addy was on the Varsity track team for all four years of high school, as well as being named a Captain her senior year. Her teammates can vouch that she was always so supportive and helped push them all to their full potential every day.
Favorite sport:
When Adyson isn’t practicing for track, she is most likely cheering. She was also a Varsity Competition, Gameday, and Sideline Football Cheerleader throughout her high school years. “I wouldn’t say I have one favorite sport. I love whatever sport is in season at the time. Track and cheer are very different, but I love them both the same”.
Plans after high school:
In the fall, Adyson will be attending the University of Cincinnati to study health sciences. She also plans to continue athletics in college by either walking on to the track team or becoming a UC cheerleader. Her intense passion for both of the sports has made it very difficult for her to choose which would be the best fit for her, but there is no doubt that she will be incredibly successful in either path she chooses.
Favorite event to compete in:
Addy is the definition of a versatile runner. Over the past four years, she has competed in multiple different events. Some of these include the 100m, 200m, 400m, long jump, triple jump, and various amounts of relay events. Her favorite events to compete in are the 200m dash and triple jump, and the most challenging event is the 400m dash.
How to mentally and physically prepare in order to keep improving:
The night before a meet, Addy will eat carbs, drink lots of water, and make sure she is well rested so she doesn’t go into a meet sore. On meet days, it’s easy to get nervous.“I like to pray as I’m getting into my blocks before a race. It helps me calm down and control my nerves. I have a lot of silly superstitions that help to ease my mind as well. Such as lucky socks, shorts, and sticking to the same warmup routine”. When it comes to the race itself, Addy has started to repeat to herself the phrase “Don’t slow down”. This has dramatically improved her times by helping her remember to maintain her speed towards the end of her races when most people are starting to get tired and slow down.
Accomplishments:
It’s evident that Adyson has accomplished so many incredible goals throughout her track career. She has broken over 12 school records and competed at both Indoor and Outdoor Nationals. Some of her current PRs include…
100m: 12.5 200m: 25.7 400m: 58.6 long jump: 17ft. 1in. triple jump: 35ft. 4in.
Favorite memory:
“My favorite memory from track was finally breaking the 4x100m relay school record. We broke it on the very first meet of my senior year season when it was raining off and on and incredibly windy. None of us expected to break that record, especially in those conditions. Breaking that record after consistently trying for the past three years was really rewarding”.
Advice for other track athletes:
“Stay mentally prepared. It’s you against you. Your past races don’t define who you are as a track runner. Your dedication you put into practices and meets is what defines you as an athlete”.
Congratulations to Adyson for a fantastic four years at SHS! Best of luck to her at Nationals this summer and at the University of Cincinnati in the fall.
