By Claudia Loucks
Correspondent
Annie Wirth excels in many sports and she had her choice of many colleges where she could continue her athletic career, but after a visit to the University of Iowa, Wirth said, “Iowa was it for me.
Her recent athletic events have been track and field, volleyball and basketball and tennis prior to her senior year at GHS, and at Iowa, she will be competing in track and field.
Wirth said, “Everyone told me when I found the right school I would ‘just know,’ Iowa was it for me, one I was familiar with their campus, team dynamics, coaching staff, facilities, and academics, it was an easy decision.
She said the track team at Iowa “is so welcoming, and I love the training and competition facilities. I had not planned to stay close to home, and I was a little surprised how easy it was to choose a school that is not that far from my hometown.”
The GHS standout athlete had taken official visits to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Wisconsin, and she added, “I had visits planned for the University of Texas and Clemson.”
When asked what events she will focus on at Iowa, Wirth said, “The Iowa coaches are planning for me to compete in the Heptathlon which consists of seven events – long jump, high jump, 800 m, 200 m, 100 m high hurdles, javelin and shot put. There is not a heptathlon at every meet, so I will be focusing on specific events like the high jump.”
“I am really excited about competing in numerous events,” she said. “It’s fun to focus on completely different things and also be able to do high jump individually.”
Wirth won back-to-back state titles in the high jump in her sophomore and junior track and field seasons. She also placed second and third in State in the long jump, and was part of the 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams which won state in 2021 with teammates Addison Pischke, Alison Bowers and Ali Rapps.
At the State Meet in June of this year, she cleared 5 feet, 10 inches, a personal best and the best height in all three classes.
“I love competing in track and field and I am excited to compete at the next level,” Wirth said. “I have a lot to learn about the heptathlon, and during my senior season (at GHS) I hope to focus on growing in the events I have so little experience with. I have won high jump at the State Meet ever since seventh grade, other than in my freshman year when we did not have a season due to Covid. My goal this season is to clear 6 feet.”
In the last two seasons, she has won a total of eight State Medals.
The recent GHS volleyball season was a first for Wirth and she said, “Joining the volleyball team this year was a really good decision, for so many reasons. Becoming a part of a new team is a skill I can take to college and I made many great friends and teammates.”
In closing, Wirth commented how she has appreciated Geneseo, and said, “Geneseo has been so supportive of me, and I am so grateful. The community members, my teachers, my coaches, family and friends that have stuck with me over the years are amazing and I am so grateful.”
One of those coaches, GHS Varsity Track Coach Kyle Morey, recently described Wirth as “an incredibly gifted athlete. The sky is the limit for her athletically. She sets a great example for her teammates by the way that she competes. She always seems to rise to the occasion as the level of competition increases.”
Coach Morey continued by pointing out that “Annie is one of three female athletes in Geneseo history to win two individual state championships and she still has one more season to go. This is an incredible accomplishments made even more impressive by the fact that she was shorted an entire season due to Covid-19. Annie was also a member of the only two relay state championship teams we have ever had in our program.”
“An accomplishment that speaks to Annie’s versatility and competitiveness is the fact that she is a perfect 8 for 8 in earning state medals,” he said. “An athlete can only compete in 4 events at the State Meet and she has earned a State medal in every event she has entered both of her high school seasons.”
Geneseo’s Annie Wirth, daughter of Jason and Sara Wirth, will continue her athletic career at the University of Iowa. Photo by Claudia Loucks
Geneseo High School senior Annie Wirth signed a letter of commitment to participate in track and field at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, at the recent Fall National Signing Day held in the Concert Hall at GHS. Joe Nichols, GHS Athletic Director, said, “Annie is going to graduate from Geneseo High School as probably the most decorated athlete in the history of Geneseo sports. We are proud of her and her hard work and we know she will be taking a piece of Geneseo with her as she goes on to the college level.”
