Since her feet hit the ground on her middle school’s track, Ava Paramantgis (10) has had a passion for the sport. Now on the high school team, Paramantgis does 300 and 100 hurdles, four by one, 4c four, and the short medley relay.

Paramantgis has been running track since middle school and has stuck with it as the sport and her coaches have pushed her to improve.

“I love all the coaches that I have, they help me with everything that I need,” Paramantgis said. “I love all my events that I do. Hurdles are probably my favorite; they kept pushing me, and I like beating and winning.”

This season, one of Paramantgis’s biggest accomplishments was winning MVP for Chesterton relays, along with getting three first-place medals and a third-place ribbon. These accomplishments do not come through training, though.

“I just do the workouts that the coaches ask, train on my own, and then just make sure I stay after for everything, and then put all my effort into what I’m doing,” Paramantgis said.

Paramantgis has had to balance the time spent on track with her other sports as well such as basketball and softball.

“I played basketball for the high school and then I played travel softball outside of school,” Paramantgis said.  “You have to have time management. That’s the whole big thing.”

Time management is just one of the things Paramantgis has learned that could help her out in her future. Paramantgis hopes to have a career in physical therapy inspired by her family.

“All my family does physical therapy, so I want to take after them,” Paramantgis said. “[Track will help me with my career] when I am helping other people that have injuries on the field, and going to go help them.”

A long way from her middle school track, Paramantgis hopes to continue her track journey in college as she pursues her career.