By Christopher Hunt
She spent weeks being confused and indecisive. But when she finally made the call, she hung up the phone and Kristin Reese sat on her couch with a stunned smile on her face.
The decision had been made.
Reese, a senior at Carmel High, made an oral commitment to Stanford University Monday.
“It was a really hard decision,” Reese said. “I’ve been wanting to go to Stanford for the last couple of years because it’s such a good school.”
And for some other obvious reasons.
“It has nice palm trees,” she said.
Reese, who ran 4:55.66 to win the mile at the Hispanic Games at the Armory last year, picked the Cardinals over Villanova, Virginia, Georgetown and Princeton. The senior has range from the 800 to the 3,200. She set the Section 1 record in the 3,200 last spring at the Red Raider Relays in 10:33.81 and later set a section record at the Loucks Games by winning the 800 in 2:09.24.
But Reese developed a stress fracture in her right foot that hampered her through the end of the outdoor season. She wore a protective boot for six weeks in the summer and missed most of this cross country season. She debuted at the Class A championships, finished second and qualified for the state meet.
“At the beginning of the summer I was nervous,” Reese said. “Coaches would ask me how my training was going and I told them that I had a stress fracture. But they were all really nice and saying things like, ‘When I had a stress fracture I came back and ran even stronger.’ So that helped.”
Her choice came down to Stanford and Villanova. Stanford, though her first choice, traditionally doesn’t offer freshman full scholarships. But based on her performances Reese said she can earn a full ride. Plus, it was Stanford.
“I just felt like it was such a great opportunity,” she said. “I couldn’t pass it up.”
Reese visited Stanford in October. She said she had never seen anything like it. But she didn’t want to wait until the spring to make a decision, getting it over with before the indoor track season was the logical choice. But the closer she came to making a choice the more difficult it became.
“It was like three weeks, I was trying to decide whether to go to Villanova or Stanford,” she said. “I was writing stuff down. I was asking my guidance counselors, my coaches, my friends. I’m indecisive.”
Her coaches are glad it’s over as well.
“Her talent, I always thought she could go anywhere,” said Harold Cargain, who shares head coaching duties with Eric Schwark. “She can do whatever she wants as long as she’s focused and happy. She’s really got no boundaries.”
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.
She spent weeks being confused and indecisive. But when she finally made the call, she hung up the phone and Kristin Reese sat on her couch with a stunned smile on her face.The decision had been made.
Reese, a senior at Carmel High, made an oral commitment to Stanford University Monday.
“It was a really hard decision,” Reese said. “I’ve been wanting to go to Stanford for the last couple of years because it’s such a good school.”
And for some other obvious reasons.
“It has nice palm trees,” she said.
Reese, who ran 4:55.66 to win the mile at the Hispanic Games at the Armory last year, picked the Cardinals over Villanova, Virginia, Georgetown and Princeton. The senior has range from the 800 to the 3,200. She set the Section 1 record in the 3,200 last spring at the Red Raider Relays in 10:33.81 and later set a section record at the Loucks Games by winning the 800 in 2:09.24.
But Reese developed a stress fracture in her right foot that hampered her through the end of the outdoor season. She wore a protective boot for six weeks in the summer and missed most of this cross country season. She debuted at the Class A championships, finished second and qualified for the state meet.
“At the beginning of the summer I was nervous,” Reese said. “Coaches would ask me how my training was going and I told them that I had a stress fracture. But they were all really nice and saying things like, ‘When I had a stress fracture I came back and ran even stronger.’ So that helped.”
Her choice came down to Stanford and Villanova. Stanford, though her first choice, traditionally doesn’t offer freshman full scholarships. But based on her performances Reese said she can earn a full ride. Plus, it was Stanford.
“I just felt like it was such a great opportunity,” she said. “I couldn’t pass it up.”
Reese visited Stanford in October. She said she had never seen anything like it. But she didn’t want to wait until the spring to make a decision, getting it over with before the indoor track season was the logical choice. But the closer she came to making a choice the more difficult it became.
“It was like three weeks, I was trying to decide whether to go to Villanova or Stanford,” she said. “I was writing stuff down. I was asking my guidance counselors, my coaches, my friends. I’m indecisive.”
Her coaches are glad it’s over as well.
“Her talent, I always thought she could go anywhere,” said Harold Cargain, who shares head coaching duties with Eric Schwark. “She can do whatever she wants as long as she’s focused and happy. She’s really got no boundaries.”
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.