Senior Amanda Putt will be graduating with a biology degree in May and getting married in June. She holds five school records and plans to continue her collegiate distance running career in graduate school. The Collegian sat down with her to discuss her work in Hillsdale and her plans for the future.
What events do you run? What’s the longest you’ve ever run?
I’m a distance runner. I put in the miles day after day. The longest I’ve ever run is 13 miles my freshman year. I felt fantastic, but the next day it hurt a lot. But we work out anywhere up to four hours a day — whether it’s just straight up running, swimming, lifting weights or work. It’s a lot of different stuff. It would be a struggle if it wasn’t for the team. That makes it so much more fun. My best friends are all there with me.
You’ve broken five records?
Breaking these records has been pretty exciting. I started looking at the record boards last year and being like, ‘Alright, maybe I can start to hit a few of them.’ I had all these goals that I want to get all these records, but it seemed kind of like a wish. But I started hitting them one after another. The 800 was a shock. I didn’t expect that at all. Now we’re joking about cleaning off the record boards and trying to figure out other ones that our team can get this year. Also, I have one in outdoor — that’s the 1500. And then in indoor I have the 800, the mile, the 3k, and the 5k.
What is your proudest moment athletically?
Honestly, one of my proudest moments is my freshman year of high school. It was the first time I qualified for the state meet. I had to drop 17 seconds from my mile in one week and all my coaches were like, “probably not this year. Good try.” And then I had the race of my life and it was the first time I realized that maybe I am good at running, maybe this will go somewhere. When I got to college, it was exciting getting my first All-American last year. That took a long time and a lot of injuries to get that. But I still think in high school that was one of the best things ever. Realizing, ‘Alright, this is what I want to do for a while.’
Why did you choose to attend Hillsdale?
I did not want to come here at first. Honestly, it was my last choice. It came down to the middle of May and I was trying to say ‘No.’ But financially, it was the best option. I loved the coaches, and I just didn’t really know how to say no to them. Academically, I didn’t know a lot about it. It seemed too close to home, it seemed too small. But both of those things are now some of my favorite parts about it.
Where are you going after Hillsdale?
I’m not sure yet. I’ve applied to several graduate schools for public health, and I’ve been accepted to the University of Michigan, San Francisco, and the University of Texas. I’m visiting a few over spring break and waiting to here back on others. It’s up in the air right now. I’m really interested in U of M right now. It’s a great program. It’s a great team. It’s weird looking back as a senior now. I’m not done running. I’m going to run in grad school. That will be different. I’m excited to run at the Division I level, but it’s going to be different. I would love to coach cross country at the collegiate level. But yet, I’m still getting my masters in something because it’s a little more practical maybe. I’d maybe like be starting a family in about five years, living someone more interesting than Hillsdale.
— Compiled by T. Elliot Gaiser