As a senior in high school, most would assume you wouldn’t be trying new sports. Not for senior Macy Schroeder, who took a shot at wrestling her senior year to offset her running sports of cross country and track. 

With the wrestling season ending the last week of January, Schroeder had a short three week off-season before the start of track practices. For some, that off period would be detrimental to their performance. 

“Like every athlete, having some downtime can be a bit scary just because you don’t want to lose all of your progress,” she commented. Schroeder, though, saw the window to keep training and took it. “I just had to make sure I stayed calm about it and understanding what I was doing was helpful.”

Although they have their differences, wrestling and track training also have their similarities. According to Schroeder, wrestling training was a full body workout that will benefit her during the track season.

“It worked my lungs, my arms, my legs, and my core, of course. I think it will be really beneficial to staying strong this coming track season,” she said. The off-season workout of wrestling gave Schroeder the opportunity to focus on her running this spring without having to worry about her endurance. “After the wrestling season, I definitely honed in on the running aspects,” she expressed. “They kind of balance each other out.”

Joining wrestling in the middle of the season meant Schroeder only got a small taste of being a senior leader before doing so for track. Last fall, though, she and the other juniors of the cross country team got to dip their toes in a leadership position during their state championship season.

“I got a taste of being a senior leader last year, especially during the cross country season,” she said. “We didn’t have very many seniors that were on our state and districts team. So me and the juniors at the time really had to step up.” Her cross country experience gave her a good look on how her 2024 track season may go. “I just want to uplift and stay positive for all the new girls and be a good leader and role model for the girls.”

Schroeder’s personal goals for herself have stayed consistent, despite having signed with Northwestern University in Orange City, Iowa to run track and cross country. Her mindset is to still go out, perform the best she can, and stay as competitive as she normally would be.

“For me, my goals really stay the same. I mean, everyone wants to get a PR, everyone wants to win some races. I just try and keep everything really realistic,” she said. Schroeder isn’t going to let the nerves of college athletics get to her either. “There’s always going to be a little bit of pressure, but I feel like some of that has been taken off.”