Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Collin Welch, North Star track

As the high school year nears its end, many seniors get ready to say goodbye and prepare for the next chapter of their lives. Senior Collin Welch is set to wrap up his last year with the North Star track and field team within the next month. But once it is over, he will be heading out of state to the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution. It took him a lot of work, but Welch is looking forward to the next chapter of his life.

"It's very exciting," Welch said about getting into Penn. "It was hard to get into. You had to do well on standardized tests and had to do lots of studying and putting in time towards that but after you get in, it's such a good feeling."

Welch wanted to go to Penn because his older sister is also attending. He plans on getting on a pre-med track by studying either biochemistry or biophysics. He hopes to use that education to either get into dentistry or orthodontics once he is done with school. As he gets set to head off to college, he looks forward to getting to meet new people.

Before he leaves, Welch looks to finish his senior season with the Knights on a strong note. For the North Star track and field team, Welch competes in shot put, discus, javelin and the 400 relay. He enjoys the shot put the most because he has the most success in it. He also enjoyed getting to make friends during his time in the program.

"(I love) meeting new people and making friendships between different teams and other people," Welch said.

Welch got into track during his freshman year of high school because his older sister was competing in it and encouraged him to join the team. In high school, Welch also played football for the Knights as a lineman and as a center.

His sister also encouraged him to participate in other extracurricular activities such as speech and drama. In speech, Welch competes in humorous oral interpretation where he takes a humorous story and gets to read it out the way he wants to.

When he does get free time, Welch enjoys shooting guns or playing video games with his friends. But with just a few weeks left of his senior season, Welch is focused on enjoying this last ride with the friends on his team. Before he wraps things up his high school career, the Havre Daily News got the chance to ask Welch five questions.

HDN: What motivates you in track and field?

Welch: "My teammates. I wouldn't do as good if they weren't cheering me on."

HDN: What's the hardest part about track?

Welch: "The hardest thing about it is probably the track meets and having to have a flexible schedule, because a lot of track meets have been canceled and rescheduled, so we have a meet every other day and next week is packed too so, that's been the hardest part."

HDN: What do you enjoy more: football or track?

Welch: "Football. I feel like I get closer with the other boys and you make friendships in and out of school and on and off the team. You get closer to your coaches too because you're all doing the same sport where in track you're doing other events."

HDN: With all the activities you participate in, how do you manage that along with your academics?

Welch: "I make sure to get my homework done first and make sure my grades are good and then after that, I might have to do stuff outside of school or after practice so I just got to make sure that I'm being a good student and a good athlete."

HDN: As you get ready for college, what can you take away from your time with the Knights?

Welch: "Learning how to manage my time, how to treat people and how to treat people with higher authority."