Senior Hailey Shreffler has found much success running for Eastern University’s track and cross-country teams. Alongside being an athlete, Hailey is a double major in math and neuroscience and is currently applying for a PhD in neuroscience, where she hopes to study neurodegenerative diseases. Within her time here at Eastern she has achieved All-MAC second team conference for cross country, First Team All-MAC first team conference for track and field, broke the school record in the 800m and competed in the DIII National Championships in the spring of 2024. Most recently she was also named 13th in the region in women’s cross country for the 2024 season.
Hailey grew up in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania and she was very involved with sports, but after volleyball, basketball, and 12 years of cheer, track and field was the sport that stuck for her. She was originally recruited to Eastern’s track and field for jumps, and while she was dedicated to the sport back then, she wasn’t as serious about it as she is today. After debating what her role would be on the team at Eastern, she came to the conclusion that she would overall be happier and more successful if she decided to focus on running for the distance team.
She didn’t start out as a stand-out runner when she began her running career. It wasn’t until her junior year she began to make a name for herself in the Mid-Atlantic Conference. As the outdoor track season progressed in her junior year at Eastern, she continued to improve her times and gain more confidence. At the conference championships she placed 4th in the 800m and won first place in the 1500m with a time of 4:39.6. She said, “winning the conference championship made a difference because it gave me this confidence that I didn’t have before.” This new confidence brought her to hit the qualifying mark for nationals at a last-chance meet and shaved seconds off of her previous personal best time in the 800m. She gained a new personal best of 2:11.11 and broke the school record that day.
Not originally intending on making nationals, she had planned a trip to Washington that weekend. However, she had to cancel her flight 10 hours before it left because she got the call that she had qualified for nationals. She made her first-ever national appearance in May 2024. She says this was the most anxious and exciting period of her life. Realizing that she was among the best of the best, she claims, “It was the coolest thing I’d ever done.”
She attributes a lot of her success to those around her and her ability to do the same for others. Her teammates and coaches are a big reason running at Eastern is so special to her. Even though the original coaches that recruited her are different from the coaches training with her now, she says the current coaching staff has helped her by not only pushing her to be a successful runner, but also showing they care about her life outside of running, and building a connection that doesn’t solely rely on performance. She also said a lot of her motivation comes from the role she gets to play in her younger sisters’ lives, “Knowing that I inspire them in that encourages me to keep going and go to practice every single day… Wanting to be a role model for your siblings is always something that can give you a lot of motivation.”
Hailey said that running at Eastern has helped her grow in significant ways as an athlete and as a person in general. Even though she wasn’t set on going to a Christian school she is very grateful she ended up being recruited to Eastern, and getting to experience the atmosphere the school and the people have to offer. “Being at Eastern gives me the opportunity to see running as something that’s not just for me, and it’s not just for my teammates, but it’s ultimately for the glory of God.”
When asked what advice she would give to other athletes she said, “progress isn’t linear…you can work your hardest at something and the payoff might not be at the end of the season… but you have to come back with the motivation to want to keep going… things like putting your head down, working, and building up your teammates and the people that are around you, because at the end of the day, people aren’t going to support you if you’re not supporting others.” Hailey will compete and cheer on her teammates for a final track and field season for her senior year, and she looks forward to what’s in store for this upcoming season.
Grace Nealy 
Natasha Chaillou