Melbourne senior Vanessa Valentine has ended her college search. Valentine has selected Vanderbilt University as her home for the next four years. Former coach T.J. Woodbury says she is a great fit for the reigning SEC Champions.
"When she went on her visit the thing that stood out to her the most was how the girls on the team had lives outside of running. They went to football games and the coach encouraged them to belong to clubs. Many girls were a part of the engineering school which was Vanessa's projected major. She wasn't going into a school where it was uncharted territory. The girls were where she wanted to be and that was a student-athlete."
In 2011 Valentine placed third in the 1600 and second in the 3200. She was also a seventh place finisher at the 3A Cross Country Championships. The Mel-High senior chose the Commodores over offers from the University of Virginia and University of Florida.
Vanessa Breaksdown Her Decision
Why did you end up choosing Vanderbilt in the end?
I am passionate about running, and I have always been a diligent student; but when it comes down to it, I do realize there's more to life. I enjoy many other aspects of life as well. One of my favorite outlets is my job as an Ocean Rescue Lifeguard. I also love playing other sports and being involved in my community. I do have a good GPA, too, over a 4.0, but I'm going to have to work even harder to keep up with the smart ones at Vanderbilt.
Personal Bests
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1600 Meter Run5:01.75 -
3200 Meter Run10:59.62
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5000 Meter Run17:43.00
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