The past four years have flown by for Mimi Smith. The Senior Captain and defending state champion is having an incredible season for the New Trier Girls Cross Country team.  
The three time all-state runner recently made one of the biggest choices of her life, committing to run at Wake Forest University. After visiting a number of schools, Smith eventually had to pick the best situation for her as a student and an athlete:  
“I ended up narrowing it down to four schools that I wanted to take official visits to, and as I went to each school it ended up being between Northwestern and Wake Forest as the two that I choose,” she explained.
Ultimately Smith picked Wake Forest because it had everything she was looking for in a university.
“I wanted a smaller private school environment. Wake Forest had the major that I wanted and they have a Track and Field team, where as Northwestern did not,” she said.
Smith made it a priority to commit to a school early in her senior year because she wanted to turn her full attention back to running.
“My success early on was important because Freshman and Sophomore year I got on coaches radars and then Junior year when I was able to win state, I started getting actively recruited, so my early success was crucial” Smith said.
Tomorrow, at Niles West, Smith is going to be tested Tuesday during the postseason by competing against perennial powerhouse Glenbard West, for the Sectional title. Smith’s goal for this season has been and will continue to be the state champ, a daunting task for any runner.
In her fourth year running in the postseason, Smith benefits tremendously from her postseason experience,
“The goal is to win state. I know the competition this year so far has been better, but as a team we do a great job at peaking at the end of the season,” she said,  “I’m just taking it race by race.”
After a 3rd place finish last year at state, New Trier looks to be in the top three again and to get the 3rd trophy in four years.  Despite a potentially deeper and more competitive field of teams this year Smith still believes that the Trevians have what it takes to take home another trophy,
“I think that it is going to be a very close race for top three this year with an even deeper field then last year, but I think as a team we’re starting to gain momentum and we’re setting ourselves up perfectly to peak at state” she added.
While Smith is currently focusing for the postseason for New Trier, she offered a glimpse into what the next four years might hold for her as a collegiate runner at Wake Forest.  The coach at Wake Forest is looking to rebuild the program and create a culture of competing at a higher level, Smith said, “The coach is recruiting a lot of the top girls in Virginia, a top girl from Minnesota.  But the team goal is to make it to the NCAA championships and compete with some of the best programs in the country.”
 It’s been a four year journey for Smith, but she’s enjoyed every part of the ride,
“I wouldn’t give it up for anything,” concluded Smith.