Growing up, coaches always looked right past me because I was “too small”. I was never given a chance, but my dad was always my biggest fan, there to cheer me on and help me practice for whatever sport I wanted to play. He always told me that I was a good athlete and had potential, but I didn’t believe him because no one else believed in me. When I started running my last two years of high school, my dad was very excited because he thought this was truly my sport. 

I ran recreationally while getting my engineering degree at the University of Notre Dame. After graduation, I moved home to work at John Deere and be closer to family. My dad was fighting glioblastoma (grade 4 brain cancer) and I wanted to be at home with him and my mom to spend time with them and also help take care of my dad when things went downhill. My dad had always enjoyed recreational biking, so I started biking with him as an opportunity to bond with him. I hated biking, but did it because I loved spending time with him. I eventually taught myself to swim as good cross training and decided to try a sprint triathlon.In 2019 I decided to do Ironman Wisconsin (one-and-done Ironman) as a fundraiser for brain cancer research in honor of my dad. I started the Mind Over Matter fundraising campaign and we raised $40,000 for brain cancer research for the University of Iowa. My dad was hospitalized for 3 weeks leading into the race, but was released a few days before it.

My mom begged him to take breaks from being on course because it was cold, windy and raining and he was still pretty weak. He refused saying he would leave the course until I crossed that finish line. It wasn’t fast or competitive, but I finished and got to hug my dad at the finish. No finish line will ever be as magical as that one. He passed away 8 months later and Covid hit so no races happened. I decided to dedicate all my racing and training to him and to raising money and awareness for the cause in his honor. This new “why” lit a fire in me and I worked extremely hard through Covid. I improved quickly and significantly and when racing started again, I was an entirely different athlete. I qualified for Kona and then qualified to go pro. I started racing as a pro in 2023. 

I love triathlon because I’m passionate about pushing myself to my limits and chasing my potential while also building relationships with inspiring humans of various backgrounds from all around the world. I’ve made family all over the world through this sport, and that’s so special to me. There’s also something purely magical about challenging yourself while being surrounded by God’s beautiful creation. Triathlon makes me feel free and blessed because I have the opportunity to do what I love in incredible places surrounded by incredible people.