“I’ve put in more effort and shown improvement,” Chen said. 

His teammates have noticed this effort and have seen it translated in competition.

      “He runs a really good split time, so he makes the relay faster,” teammate Mary Margaret Henslee said. 

     They also believe that this success doesn’t just come through practice, but through attention to detail and research.

      “He pays attention to everything, he looks into it and he finds what the best [shoe] spikes are and he does different running plans and he just is very interested in it,” Henslee said. 

     Chen’s drive to be the best is seen on and off the track. He takes every aspect of his life seriously, he wants to be the best version of himself. 

     “On the track, he’s very competitive, and off the track, he’s also very competitive about his grades like he would be for his times,” Henslee said.

      Although he believed he was ready for the challenge of a new caliber of running, it was devastating to find out that he did not qualify for nationals.

      “I knew that I had a lot of work to do,” Chen said. 

      Throughout this obstacle, his team supported him and encouraged him to keep training.         “[My team] motivated me to push myself and work harder,” Chen said. 

     With the support of his team, he became determined to succeed. To achieve this goal of   success, he trained even more. 

     “He runs even [when] there’s no practice,” Henslee said.

     Chen’s endurance is frequently challenged during training and competitions due to insufficient sleep caused by his demanding academic schedule. He has a simple strategy to overcome this Issue.

      “When I’m racing [I’m] thinking about the finish line pushing me past the last 100 meters of the race remembering all the training it took to get there,” Chen said.