Salute To Seniors: Carolina Carmichael - Lake Forest

What was your most memorable race?

My most memorable race was freshman year in the 100m hurdles at sectionals when I made it to state as a freshman.

What would you consider your biggest competition?

I would consider my biggest meet the USATF Nationals where I competed in the long jump, 100m hurdles, and pole vault. I got 2nd in the pole vault from a vault-off.

Out of all of your high school accomplishments which stands out the most?

I would say state this year was my biggest accomplishment because this entire season was a roller coaster and I'd be jumping well then I would be going through a lot. So to win on my last and biggest meet of my high school career was the greatest feeling.

If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running career in high school?

There's nothing I'd really want to change. My years doing high school track wrere very up and down, but when it was down I wouldn't give up and I was determined to get through the hard times. Overall I loved the experience and meeting new people at every meet I was at and getting to know them.

What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?

The biggest obstacles I had to overcome were this year because I was changing a lot in my vault so I wasn't jumping as high as I wanted. I felt that a ton of other people were jumping better then me so I was very frustrated throughout the entire season. I would have to sit down with my coaches and they would just talk to me and tell me that everything was going to click at the right time, and it did at State!

Do you have any advice for younger athletes?

My advice to younger athletes is to remember why you compete in this sport. Which ever event you compete in there's always going to be times where you're frustrated and you feel like you aren't getting any better, or you didn't have a good race, but if you just forget about everything and have fun and do what you do best then those are going to be days where you compete the best. So just HAVE FUN!

What are your college plans?

I signed with University of Memphis and I'll be doing pole vault on the track and field team.

Who would you like to say thank you to?

I'd like to thank my head coach, Coach Sweet because he's helped me so much throughout the season. I'd also like to thank my vaulting coach, Coach Darrough because we are the same exact vaulter so she understood my frustrations and we had a lot of fun this season at practices and meets. Most importantly I'd like to thank my family for always being there for me and being so supportive throughout my entire high school career.

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Want to be featured in our Salute To Seniors series? Drop me a line: TGrasley@milesplit.com and answer the questions above! Congratulations to the class of 2012 on all their hard work and success.