My name is Charlie Wade.  I am in the class of 2018 at St. Charles East High School.  I run the 200m, the 400m and do both the triple and long jump.  My freshman and sophomore year, I was competitive enough to jump for the varsity [TJ, LJ and HJ] and as a result I trained almost exclusively with the jumpers.  At the start of my junior year, I decided to give up basketball and join the cross country team to get into better shape for and be able to take part in the indoor track season.  This changed things for me.  At our indoor conference meet, running only my third indoor 400m, I won conference from the slow heat.  Because of weather and schedule, I ran my second outdoor open 400m ever at our conference meet and ran a 49.76.  Two weeks later at state, I ran 49.06.  I continue to compete in the long jump, triple jump and the 200m for my team.  I will run some open 200m and 800m next year as my coaches look for additional ways I can contribute to team scoring.  I ran a 22.1 split 200m, and ran the 800m once in and after practice time trial in 2:11 with lots of room to improve. I triple over 42′ and long over 20′. I am 6’2.5″ and 170 pounds. I have been all-conference, all-county, and all-sectional in at least 2 events since my freshmen year and indoor conference champion in the 400m. I have a 4.8/5.0 unweighted GPA and a 5.5 weighted, along with a 30 ACT and 1370 SAT. I wish to continue to grow and thrive in the classroom at a top university while putting in the work on the track to reach my full potential.

I hope to provide a college track team with a very dynamic and natural athlete who has willingness to compete in multiple events.  I have benefitted from the great leadership of graduated track teammates and I have seen what putting in the work can do for performance.  I plan to provide that same leadership this year, as I feel the responsibility to challenge my peers every day in practice as other have pushed me.  To the university as a whole, I bring an eagerness to learn and be exposed to new and various ways of approaching any subject or world event.  I participate in many clubs from French, Science, and English Honor Society, along with creative writing club.  I am comfortable with and have friends from every imaginable clique within our high school; ranging from theater to wrestling.  Sometimes this makes me feel uncertain about who I am or what I’ll want to declare as a major in college, but I believe it is just part of the process; at least my process.  I was a competitive club basketball player until my junior year and I recently joined a rowing club to mix up my off season training.

In summary, I really feel like I am just beginning to scratch the surface of my track potential.  My outdoor season was kind of a revelation for me.  I recognize my best times are yet to come and that has me extremely motivated.  I already spent a week camping in southern Wisconsin running hills with the cross country team.  For more information, please email me at charliewade2018@gmail.com.