Janelynn Wirth's Hard Work/Training Pay Off; She Is Midwest Members Credit Union Female Athlete Of Month For Roxana High School

ROXANA - Hard work and hours of training have paid huge dividends for Roxana High School senior distance star Janelynn Wirth.

Wirth now has the Roxana High School girls track and field school record holder in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:51.7, cracking the old mark of 11:58. She explains that hard work, consistency and a positive attitude have made her into the competitor she is today.

Wirth is the Midwest Members Credit Union Female Athlete of Month for Roxana High School.

"I would like to thank Coach Edwards for putting many hours into my training, keeping me on track, and supporting me in all ways he can," she said. "I would like to thank my mom for providing me with everything I need to run and showing up to every single one of my meets. I would also like to thank my friends who ride a bike along side of me while I run, share my accomplishments on social media, and constantly remind me their proud when I see them."

Wirth's head track and field coach at Roxana is Julie Akal and long-distance coach is Scott Edwards. Wirth said she ran track in seventh and eighth grade, but truly came into her own in her freshman year in cross country.

"What I like most about my sport is the personal improvement," she said. "I want to continue to be better than I once was. The feeling of your hard work finally paying off after successfully completing one of your goals is hard to compare to any other feeling."

Wirth said her special interests are to bike, swim, lift weights, cook, eat, take naps, play soccer, and shop at Target.

"My high school career helped develop me into the person I am today because it always kept me busy," Wirth said. "It allowed me to keep a schedule and learn how to get things done by a deadline. I learned to complete everything to my best ability."

She continued: "My involvement in high school sports helped me develop into the person I am today by showing me what it means to work hard. I already had a strong work ethic going into this sport growing up with good grades but I believe running made me into an even harder worker. Running cross country and track opened new doors and interests for me that I would have never touched on without."

The Roxana senior is involved in Silver Medallion, National Honors Society, Sons of American Revolution Award and the High School Attendance Award. She was also an active cross country member and broke the 3-mile Roxana High cross country record in 2019 with a time of 17:57.

Wirth was also a prom court selection. She said her girls cross country team earned the Mesby Award.

Wirth is committed to run cross country and long distance track at Eastern Illinois University in the fall 2021. She plans to major in nursing.

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