Allison Wood has logged over 2,000 miles of running over the past five years to prepare not only for her high school career but also for what lies ahead in college.
The Hopkinsville High senior took another step on her running journey Thursday when she signed to run cross country at Murray State University.
Wood has been a member of Hoptown’s track and cross country team since the eighth grade. And while her career began strong, 2020 was not her year.
After two years of working her way up the ladder and moving down in times, Wood lost her junior season in the track due to COVID-19 and the KHSAA’s subsequent decision to cancel the spring competition schedule.
In the fall, Wood noticed her times weren’t where they were before. After some tests, Wood learned she had an iron deficiency.
After getting her iron levels on track, she took to the track in the spring of 2021 where she broke the school record in the 1600-meter run, just missing becoming the first HHS runner to break the 5:30 barrier. She ran a 5:30.75 at the region meet.
In her senior season of cross country, Wood became the first Hoptown girls’ runner to run a sub-20 minute time in a meet. She finished as region runner-up and qualified for the state meet.
She still has goals for this spring in the distance events for Hoptown High and looks to etch her name into the record book several more times.
Wood was a member of the Governor’s Scholar Program last summer, an accomplishment for a select few that are among the best and brightest in the state.
Wood expects to study veterinary science at Murray State.
