Lily Jin

Name: Lily Jin
Hometown: Wellesley, MA
High School: Wellesley High School
Graduation year: 2024
High School Coach: Cassandra Short
Date of Birth: November 24, 2005
Height:  5'1"
Weight: 101 lbs
GPA: Available upon request
SAT/ACT: Available upon request

Emerging Elites Enrollment

11 Seasons: Summer 2021
  Winter 2021-22
  Spring 2022
  Summer 2022
  Fall 2022
  Winter 2022-23
  Spring 2023
  Summer 2023
  Fall 2023
  Winter 2023-24
  Spring 2024

About

Coming off of a strong freshman outdoor track season with her high school, Lily first joined Emerging Elites the summer before her sophomore year in 2020. Lily had always loved competitive running ever since middle school, but after her first summer with EE, Lily began to realize the importance of quality training.

In her sophomore XC season with her high school, Lily was again the fastest runner on the team, consistently finishing out top in every dual meet and invitational. Lily’s season highlights included winning the MSTCA Twilight 5k Invitational with 18:59, then winning the MIAA Divisional Championships with an improved time of 18:39, and then placing top 6 at MIAA All-States with a 5k PR of 18:30, helping her team place third. After her sophomore XC season with her school team, Lily ran the Eastbay Northeast Region XC Championships with EE, running the 5k course at Van Cortlandt for the first time in a time of 20:02.

Lily made the decision to transition completely to training with Emerging Elites for the 2022 indoor track season. Her decision and subsequent hard training paid off when she qualified for New Balance Indoor Nationals in the Mile with a PR of 5:03 and in the 5k, in which she ran a 18:04 PR.

Lily got a further taste of national competition during the outdoor season, qualifying for the 2 Mile at Nike Outdoor Nationals with a 3000m time of 10:04. At Hayward Field, Lily ran the EE Mile and the Championship 2 Mile, and in the latter, she achieved a PR of 10:49.01, which broke her school record.

Lily chose to continue with Emerging Elites for the summer before her junior year, and will also run for EE during the 2022 XC season. She hopes to continue to improve her times and delve deeper into the world of competitive running!

Lily challenged herself to her first 5000m outdoors at the Tracksmith Twilight 5000m on August 12 at MIT. She was rewarded with a new 5000m PR of 17:42, which was her first time breaking 18-minutes!

Continuing to find new events, Lily took on the Boston 10K for Women for her 10km road debut. Along with her Emerging Elites teammates, Lily ran a very strong 38:39 for 23rd place overall.

For her 2022 cross country debut, Lily ran the Women’s Championship 5K at the Mayor’s Cup hosted at Franklin Park. Lily ran a really strong race and finished in 18:58 for the fastest high school time of the day and the fastest high school time at Franklin Park for the 2022 season! Though Lily wasn’t able to race in the 2022 Eastbay Northeast XC Regional Championships at Van Cortlandt park in NY due to some hamstring tightness, Lily continued to cross train, looking forward to starting her indoor season strong.

In her first race of the 2022 indoor season at the NB Track in Boston, Lily ran a strong 800, PR’ing in 2:17. Lily continued to lower her 800m time throughout the season, running 2:15 a couple weeks later to qualify for New Balance Indoor Nationals in March. Lily spent her season focusing on speed and shorter distances. Her work paid off when she broke 5-minutes in the mile for the first time when racing with collegiate athletes at the BU Terrier Classic in January with a time of 4:57. Eager to break more barriers, Lily broke 10:00 for the first time in the 3000m with a time of 9:59.69 at the BU Valentine meet. Refocusing on the mile for the BU Last Chance meet in February, Lily lowered her PR once more, running 4:56. At New Balance Indoor Nationals, Lily ran the 2 mile, mile, and 800—a race a day for three consecutive days—and delivered robust performances in each one, ending her indoor season on a strong note.

Starting off her junior outdoor racing season in early May, Lily received the invitation to run at the first-ever BSR Elite Scholastic Mile. Sponsored by Hoka, this meet gathered together the state’s most accomplished runners for a fast mile on the track. After a day of AP Testing, Lily ran a 5:06, a strong rustbuster. Lily continued focusing on speed by racing a couple 800m races in the following weeks, running consistent 2:15s at local Battle Road Twilight meets. However, most of her attention was focused on the upcoming U20 World Mountain & Trail Running Championships in June, at Innsbruck, Austria. Lily was beyond grateful to have been selected as part of Team USA in what would be her first ever international competition abroad, and her first ever mountain race experience. The day before her flight to Austria, Lily raced one more mile at her third Battle Road Twilight meet, running a mile PR of 4:54.33. She then hopped on a plane, and spent a week in Innsbruck, Austria with Team USA, interacting with athletes from around the world and getting a taste of competitive trail running through this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. However, excited to be in Europe for the first time and to explore and socialize with the team, Lily walked extreme distances in the days before her race, resulting in leg soreness. During the race, fatigue combined with factors such as wearing unideal shoes and pounding down an incredibly steep and ongoing descent resulted in Lily’s heels tearing open at the 6km mark of the 7.5km course. Finding it extremely painful to continue her descent down the mountain, Lily was forced to stop. Determined to finish, Lily managed to cross the finish line by running the last mile on her toes. Ultimately, Lily took away many lessons from her time in Austria, and had an unforgettable experience overall.

The week after Worlds was New Balance Outdoor Nationals in Philly, PA, in which Lily had qualified to race in the Championship 1 mile, 2 mile, and Rising Star 800m. However, due to her heel injury, Lily had to forego racing in the first two scheduled races (2 mile and 1 mile), and hoped that a speedy recovery would allow her to race in the 800m, the last scheduled race. With her optimism and trust in her fitness, on top of effective cross training on the bike and communication with her coaches, Lily stepped onto the starting line in Franklin Field ready to tackle a fast 800 despite not having run for a week. She ran 2:14, a 1 second PR, made possible by her confidence in herself to make a comeback. This remarkable rebound allowed Lily to get back on track (literally and figuratively) to train for USATF U20s in Eugene, OR in July, where she would run the 3000m.

Besides running, Lily enjoys reading, baking, and spending time outdoors with her family and friends—all while listening to Spotify, of course. She aspires to be an overachieving student, an active participant in climate action and community service, and a trilingualist!

Lily’s outstanding performances this spring qualified her for the 1500m and 3000m at the U20 USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon in early July. Lily wanted to focus on the 3000m at U20’s, so she laid down a strong training block in the weeks after New Balance Nationals. After a short trip exploring the wilderness and trails of rural Oregon in the week leading up to the U20 Championship, Lily flew into Eugune on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday July 9th Lily raced in the U20 USATF Championships 3000m final. She ran a gutsy race from the gun and held on to the lead group for as long as she could. She finished 9th in the U20 division in a time of 10:15.02. Lily gained invaluable experience racing at the U.S national stage for the first time.

Events Fresh. Soph. Junior Senior PRs
 800m (o) 2:26.1   2:14.14 2:16.71 2:16.71
 800m (i)     2:15.47  2:14.10  2:14.10
 1000m     2:58.00   2:58.00
 1500m (i)     4:36.08   4:36.08
 Mile (i) 5:09.87 5:03.70 4:56.05 5:03.75 4:56.05
 Mile (o)     4:54.30 5:08.70 4:54.30
 3000m (i)     9:59.69 9:56.69 9:56.69
 3000m (o)   10:04.84 10:15.02   10:04.84
 2 Mile (o) 11:37.9 10:49.01     10:49.01
 5K (Track)   18:04.79 17:42  17:18.79  17:18.79
 5K (XC) 19:44 18:30.8     18:30.8
 6K XC Franklin Park     23:24   23:24

Athletic Awards & Recognition

2024 New Balance Indoor Nationals Qualifier - Championship 800m, Mile, & 2 Mile
2023 New Balance Indoor Nationals Qualifier – Mile, 2 Mile, 5000m, 800m
2023 New Balance Outdoor Nationals Qualifier – Mile, 2 Mile, 800m
2023 Team USA member at World Mountain Championships in Innsbruck, Austria
2023 NBNO Rising Star 800m Top 10 (8th place)
2022 New Balance Indoor Nationals Qualifier- Mile, 5000m
2022 Nike Outdoor Nationals Qualifier- 2 Mile
2021 Boston Globe Cross Country All-Scholastic
2021 Winner of Bob McIntyre Twilight Invitational
2021 Winner of MIAA Divisional 1B Championship
2X Boston Globe Cross Country All-League (2020, 2021)
2X Bay State Conference Cross Country All-Star (2020, 2021)
2X MetroWest Cross Country All-Star (2020, 2021)
2021 Bay State Conference Track & Field All-Star
2021 MetroWest Track & Field All-Star
 

Academic Awards & Recognition

2023 2x Scholastic Arts & Writing Silver Keys
2023 Recipient of Underclass French Level 4 Award
2023 National Honor Society inductee
2023 Elected Key Club Officer
2022 2x Silver Medalist in Speech & Interview Events at National Academic Decathlon Competition
2022 Recipient of Scholastic Art & Writing Silver Key Award
2022 Recipient of Underclassman Department Award
2021 2x Recipient of Underclassman Department Award (History and Music)

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