Track and field has always played a major role in Logan Chen’s (‘20) high school career: he believes that this sport has also contributed to his college acceptance. 

Logan was recruited by Emory University to be part of their track and field jump squad team.

Emory is a Division III school, which means it does not give out any athletic scholarships. Division III is the lowest level of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is the largest of all the NCAA divisions.  

Since Emory is a prestigious and selective school, Logan decided to send in his track and field long jump records to increase his chances of getting accepted into college. Logan feels that being a track and field athlete secured him a spot at Emory University because he did not  only apply to the university with his academic record. 

However, the college recruitment process was not easy and required a lot of patience. “I had to email a lot of coaches,” he said. “A lot of the time, the coaches won’t email you right away and it might [even] take three to five emails just to get into contact with them. It is also not necessarily guaranteed that the coaches will even reach [out to] you.”

Some of the coaches also required him to make certain jumps to make the team, which was “almost impossible for him” to do. 

However, his hard work ultimately paid off, when he got accepted into college. “I think his mental strength is his biggest asset,” his track and field teammate Eugene Yang (‘20) said. “He is able to push through and work even harder in situations when others would quit or slack off.” 

Logan recommends students who also plan on getting recruited for sports in college start early. “[You] ha[ve] to start in your freshman year. You have to pursue your sport and you can’t only be good at it, you have to be the best at your sport and do whatever it takes to be the best,” he said.