My name is Emily Henkel and I am member of the Lyons Township Cross-Country and Track team. Running is a passion of mine that extends far beyond the 2.5 hours I spend at practice every day training. Not only do I know I want to continue with this sport for the rest of my life, but I am excited to develop and grow as a person through running. In order to achieve this, I have attended physical therapy once a week for the past 3 years. Through strength training and massage exercises, I try to avoid injury at all costs.

During my sophomore year of cross-country, I was able to place 16th at the state meet with a time of 17:10 and earned all-state recognition. As a sophomore during track, I placed 9th in the 3200m at the state meet running a time of 10:52 and earning 9th place for all-state recognition. While I was extremely proud of my performance at this meet, I was able to run a 10:48 earlier in the season. Our XC team also earned 3rd at the state meet this year! This junior season, I would like to build on that performance and run in the 10:30s for the 3200m.

Academically, I have a 3.7 unweighted GPA and 4.5 weighted GPA. I am currently enrolled in 3 AP classes and additionally took one sophomore year. While I have not taken the SAT/ACT, I am working each week with a tutor to further my testing skills as I plan to take the tests this coming spring.

Outside of cross-country and track, I participate in a variety of extracurricular activities. I am a part of the Ronald McDonald Teen Advisory Board where I volunteer 4 hours every month in addition to attending monthly meetings. My freshman year, I participated in band playing the french horn. I have been a part of the G.E.M.S (Girls in Engineering Math and Science) Club and Science Olympiad Club where I competed in the Forensic and Disease Detective categories. In addition, I have helped out with the Kelly Run, Backpacks for Haiti Organization, Freshman Experience Day and Holiday Write Night hosted at L.T.

Additionally, I was honored to be nominated in the 2017 November Issue in the Chicago Tribune as Athlete of the Month. Although I did not win this award, it was an honor to be nominated!  For more information, please email me at emilyhenkel2019@gmail.com.