This is a multiple-pronged question. I am a freshman, but my latest track and field times are from seventh grade due to a pause in competition because of health issues. I’m looking at Princeton as my dream school and I am wondering if my times as a seventh grader and the improvement upon my times would be good enough for Princeton CC and T&F. I am a girl and my mile time was 5:35 at the age of 13 and a two-mile at 11:56. Are these good times for my age, and with an improvement of more training and age, will I be able to be recruited for the Princeton CC and T&F teams?
Here is the link to last years’ times for the Ivy League Championships. https://www.tfrrs.org/results/51545.html
This will give you an idea of how competitive the times are for Track and Field. However, coaches are not interested only in your times, but how you have placed in competition. Many Ivy athletes compete at least at the state level, some nationally and even internationally prior to being recruited (my son was a recruited athlete, class of '16) To give you a sense of how recruiting works, you would email the coach of the sport you are interested in and attach a resume of both your track times, competitions and place as well as your grades to date. For many sports initial contact from the athlete to the coach happens around the sophomore year, but that can vary depending on the sport. Coaches have different rules they must follow according to the NCAA but you can reach out to them any time.