Track, wrestling and swim. Each sport has a name next to it: Apria Smith, Carter Shin and Kyle Li. These three athletes have all reached national levels with both challenges and accomplishments; they have stories to tell about their experiences.
Senior Apria Smith switched to track in freshman year after playing soccer for most of her life. She is ranked first in Virginia and nationally for both her triple jump and long jump events.
Her most recent event was the Junior Olympics at Houston, Texas, this past summer with her qualifying for the long jump, triple jump and four-by-one relay after attending some regular meets over the summer and meeting a certain time standard.
“The biggest challenge for me was not being too stressed out and just believing in myself, knowing how hard I worked to get to the Junior Olympics.” Smith said.
Smith ended up placing first in long jump and second for triple jump at the Junior Olympics. Smith also has a plan to advance further into her sport by running at the University of Central Florida.
“I’m going to start training earlier and take my health more seriously,” Smith said. “So, that means eating healthier and just putting in all the work and recovery.”
While Smith found her rhythm on the track, senior Carter Shin found his in wrestling, starting as a five-year-old, when his father wanted him to experience the sport that he once played. From then on, Shin’s skills progressed as he made it to the U.S. Open in April 2025 in Las Vegas, even with ups and downs.
“Something wrestling has that not a lot of other sports have is the weight aspect,” Shin said. “I had to start my diet about two or three weeks before the tournament, which was tough.”
Shin won the US Open U17 Greco-Roman National Championship and was voted outstanding wrestler as well. As a result, Shin competed in the U17 Pan-Am Championships in Rio de Janeiro and the U17 World Championship in Athens, Greece.
Similar to Smith, Shin has a plan for the future. Shin has committed to the admission process at Harvard University for wrestling.
“My efforts have paid off in my training,” Shin said. “So I know what I’m doing is good, and I just have to stay consistent with it.”
Like Shin, senior Kyle Li started his journey young. As a four-year-old, his parents put him in swimming for water safety. Then, what began as a life-saving skill became a sport that changed his life. Li participated in the 100 yards breaststroke event in the winter Junior National meet in January 2024 and got a prelim time of 56.11 seconds.
“Whenever you go to these big meets, there’s always someone better than you and that can come as a shock sometimes,” Li said. “It’s also great to have a challenge that can help push yourself and just see how much faster you can go.”
In February 2024, Li ended up winning not just states as a team, but also individually, which had been his goal for quite some time. He has also committed to the admission process at Columbia University for swimming. Much like Shin, he believes that consistency is the key to improving himself as a great athlete as well as just having fun in senior year.
“In the midst of senior year, I think the biggest thing is just trying to stay consistent,” Li said. “Not slacking off too hard, and just keep trying to stack the days.”
