THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - She knew that she wanted to continue her running career without the pressures associated with a scholarship program, so when it came time for Taelor Youngto decide on a school she chose Division III and Cal Lutheran where she also knew she would feel content with numerous opportunities to compete while earning a degree close to home.
"I chose a Division III school, because I wanted to be able to compete in an environment in which I felt comfortable," she went on, "It allowed me to purse my passion for running without being stressed about performing to keep scholarships or perform at a certain level all the time."
Removing the pressure from running has been instrumental in the success that Young had showed throughout her career. Her consistency on the cross country course has been apparent by her finishes at SCIAC Championships between 2011 and 2014. Her time of 24:24.96 in 2013 was her fastest race at Prado Park.
In the spring of 2014 during a break-out women's track and field season, she clocked her way into the CLU record books a trio of times. The Oak Park, Calif. native's name now appears among the top-10 all-time for the 3,000m (10:45.60), 5,000m (18:28.54) and 10,000m (32:27.38) in seventh, fifth and third, respectively, for the Regals.
While the strains of being a multi-sport student-athlete have had its moments of question, she would not change a thing about her decision to compete on both teams in college.
"Being a two-sport athlete has kept me very busy during school (and at times was very stressful), but I don't regret any of it one bit," she added, "The experiences and memories you gain from being with teammates so much of the year is irreplaceable."
When Young is not practicing or competing she has been hard at work in the classroom where she is majoring in biology with career aspirations of becoming a physician assistant. The grueling regimen of studies and sport has helped her to prioritize and succeed in all facets of her life.
A soon-to-be four-year inductee into the CLU Scholar Athlete Society, she has also hauled in various academic recognitions from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) as a SCIAC All-Academic recipient and from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as a USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree.
"Being a student-athlete has taught me the incredibly important trait of good time management, allowing me to pursue my passions both in the classroom and on the track/course," Young shared. "It has also helped me to become a lot more outgoing as a person as I have interacted with so many people through my sports."
As her career winds down, she has looked back on the time she spent in the Violet and Gold.
"I will remember most the relationships I have created throughout my time at CLU," she finished, "I have met some of the most incredible people in my life and I am lucky enough to call so many of them my friends."
While the time with her teammates might be coming to a close at Cal Lutheran, the season is heating up for the entire CLU team that looks to repeat as SCIAC champions in 2015. Young was part of a historic run in 2012 when the Regals earned the first SCIAC title in program history, when the squad shared the crown, only to take the championship outright a year ago.
Cal Lutheran will be in action this weekend for the final SCIAC Multi-Dual meet of the year on Saturday, April 11. The meet has been moved to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps where the Regals will face the host Athenas as well as Caltech, Chapman and Whittier beginning at 11:00 a.m.
During the course of Division III Week (April 6-12), CLUSports will be distributing a series of student-athlete related materials via Social Media (links below) and on www.clusports.com.
CLU Twitter: https://twitter.com/clusports
CLU Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports
CLU Instagram: http://instagram.com/clusports#
Hashtags: #ownthethrone, #clusports, #gokingsmen #goregals, #purplepit #whyD3 #NCAAD3 #d3week