The first person who comes to mind when the topic of determination on and off the track comes into conversation is Ashley Landis, a senior here at Pennridge High School who has made it to States all four years and medalled every single time. After school every day, she brings nothing but a positive attitude and will power to the track at Helman field behind Pennridge High School. What started as a life full of hard playing soccer turned into running on the track when she reached middle school. Her top accomplishment overall would be getting a scholarship to East Stroudsburg University. Outside of sports, she works at a Nursing Home doing what she describes as “interesting and eye-opening,” getting to see all the work around the place. Ashley has been seen supporting and cheering for her teammates when she is not running. She encourages them to always do better and to push it until they have reached the end. When it comes to one of her main interests, you can most likely find her at Chipotle, whether it is after a meet, practice, or with her boyfriend, Andrew Rendler.
“I try to challenge myself with harder classes, and the most challenging one so far this year has been Anatomy,” Ashley said. She felt that her biggest athletic accomplishments were “Getting State medals, winning league titles three times, and becoming captain.” Ashley’s fellow teammate, Ashlyn, said, “Ashley has impacted the team by always being supportive of everyone and being a good role model and leader.” “Enthusiastic, honest, and kind” is how Ashlyn described her teammate, whether she is on the track or off of it. “Ashley always wants to be the best, no matter what she is doing. Whether it was in soccer or track. Her determination grew as she got older and realized that she is good at what she does,” her father said. He thinks that her biggest accomplishments academically are “Getting an academic scholarship to ESU, and always trying her best at whatever she does.” Ashley thinks that her biggest academic accomplishment was “getting all A’s.”
The thing that was common throughout all three of the interviews was that no matter what Ashley is going through, she is always striving to be the best she can be and works as hard as she can. This is the case when it comes to school, track, or her personal life. She is excited to see what the future holds during her time at ESU and to see what a new college-level coach can teach her. She wonders what he can help her “tap into”, and this could be skills that she has never learned before. When she is not at school or the track, she is either watching shows with her family, spending time with her two dogs and one cat, working at a nursing home, or eating at Chipotle. Although this runner started out playing soccer, she found her true talent when she joined the track team starting in middle school. As her dad said, “She was like a duck in the water; she hit the ground running. It was almost like she was running her entire life.”
