Senior Annabelle Stewart running at a Watauga track meet. Photo Submitted by Annabelle Stewart.
Bridget Flaherty, Feature Desk Lead
From excelling in the Watauga track and field scene to competing at the State level, Watauga senior Annabelle Stewart, has earned her place on the Milligan University Track Team. The rising star in track and field will start a new chapter in her thrilling athletic career.
After just two years of being on Watauga’s Cross Country Team, Stewart has become dedicated to the sport. She started running on the Outdoor Track Team in the spring of 2024 and followed her passion through her senior year. Stewart is looking forward to the next steps in her running career and is excited to experience new competition while finding out what Milligan University has to offer.
“I’m excited to continue to grow and have success in my running,” Stewart explained. “The coaches really presented how they have a plan to help me get faster and improve my running overall. I just started so they are super excited for me because I’m just in the beginning and I can just continue to just get faster.”
Although last year was Stewart’s first year running consistently for a team, she has always been familiar with the sport. Her dad has been passionate about running since Stewart was young and has helped Stewart get to where she is today.
“My dad inspired me, because that’s the way we bond and that was our outlet together which is nice,” Stewart explained. “He’s the one person that I ask for advice from when I’m running.”
Her inspiration not only came from her family but also from an unlikely source. Stewart suffered a serious injury to her knee when she played soccer for Watauga which left her with difficult decisions to make about how to continue her athletic career.
“I had to get surgery, and it took seven months of recovery. There was also a high risk of doing it again if I continued soccer,” Stewart said. “I really enjoyed running and ended up just fully going for it. I thought I’d recover and I’d do track instead of soccer in the spring and I just continued from there.”
Along Stewart’s amazing running journey, she learned to handle stress and navigate through difficult times during her races. She enjoys the thrill of running and competing, especially in her favorite event.
“The 3200 is the last event, and it’s cooler outside, and sometimes the sun is setting while you’re running it, and it’s just beautiful,” Stewart said. “The first time I ran it, I thought it was amazing. I didn’t know what pace I was going. I was just going for it.”
Stewart’s dad played a pivotal role in finding her love for running, but she had other mentors as well. Coach Townsend has helped inspire her to reach her limits and pursue new goals.
“Coach Townsend is so devoted to running, and I know a lot of coaches are like that but he’s just special,” Stewart explained. “I’m so blessed to have him as my first running coach.”
When Stewart toured Milligan, she immediately knew it was the place for her. From their nutritional menu options to their high competitive track team, Stewart has been able to find her people and knows she will prosper at Milligan academically and athletically.
“I feel like I was always thinking about Milligan. I toured other schools as well, but I always circled back to Milligan. I just had this feeling,” Stewart said. “After a lot of thought and prayer, I decided to fully commit to them.”
Although Stewart is excited to graduate and move on to bigger and better things, she will greatly miss Watauga and all the relationships that she has built during her impressive athletic journey.
“I’m really going to miss my teammates. We have a different relationship than my other friends who don’t run, it’s just different,” said Stewart. “I’m going to be there to watch their meets but I won’t be running with them on the team. I’m still really excited to watch them grow.”
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