Click the thumbnails to see pictures and hear from Ahna Larson and Braves Coach Jim Murtha.
GLADSTONE---Gladstone High School senior Ahna Larson signed her National Letter of Intent Friday to attend school at Northern Michigan University. She will join the Wildcat Track & Field team this fall.
"I feel really excited," Larson told RRN Sports at Friday's event. "To be able to continue my track season is really special. My coach (Jim Murtha) brought it up to me two years ago and he said he knows the (NMU) coach (Jenny Ryan) and thought I'd have a good chance to get on that team. That just started to get the ball rolling and we finally did it, which was really cool."
GLADSTONE---Gladstone High School senior Ahna Larson signed her National Letter of Intent Friday to attend school at Northern Michigan University. She will join the Wildcat Track & Field team this fall.
"I feel really excited," Larson told RRN Sports at Friday's event. "To be able to continue my track season is really special. My coach (Jim Murtha) brought it up to me two years ago and he said he knows the (NMU) coach (Jenny Ryan) and thought I'd have a good chance to get on that team. That just started to get the ball rolling and we finally did it, which was really cool."
"They think they might have me do the pentathalon," Larson said. "It's multi events like the hurdles, the loing jump, javelin, the 800-meter.I'm so excited."
Academically, Larson wants be a physician's assistant. And she knows that she will have top work hard in the classroom at NMU.
"Majoring in biology will be different, she said. "But I know that being on the track team is going to keep me disciplined. I'm going to be really busy. I know they have a bunch of different study groups, so that should help me out a lot."
Murtha says he's convinced that Larson is up for the challenge.
“I’ve been coaching girls track for 26 years and she’s definitely one of the hardest workers I’ve ever had, most talented and she’s earned everything she’s has got,” Murtha said. "It's been great to work with Ahna the last four years. I can't wait to see the next four years and how well she's going to do. Anything they throw at her, she can handle it and will do a great job."
Larson says she's excited to have the Superior Dome as a training place.
"It's definitely really nice because in high school, we've had to prolong practice and everything just because there's two feet of snow on the ground," Larson said. "Being able to practice all year-round will be super fun, especially in a place as cool as the dome."
