School: Pennridge
Track & Field
Favorite athlete: Michael Phelps. He is a fantastic athlete and has the Olympic medals to show it.
Favorite team: The women’s U.S. Soccer team. Watching them win the Olympics a few years back was beyond moving.
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning the outdoor state title last year. It was a long-time goal of mine, and finally accomplishing it was surreal!
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: A teammate of mine recently peed herself during competition…I wasn’t lucky enough to witness it, though. I only got to hear the stories.
Music on iPod: Electronic music. House, trance…I always have a beat in my head.
Future plans: I’ll be running track at the University of Pennsylvania this fall. After that, I’ll see where life takes me…Also, I’d like to open a bakery sometime in the distant future!
Words to live by: ‘Always do whatever’s next.’
One goal before turning 30: Win an Olympic medal!
One thing people don’t know about me: I can make Oreo’s homemade better than the ‘real thing,’ and I am willing to bet money on that claim.
Annie Holland allows herself just the trace of a smile, and there isn’t a moment’s hesitation when asked her goal for the upcoming spring track season.
“To get the state record,” the Pennridge senior said.
It is the answer of a champion, and Holland – who has risen above injuries that could have stood in her way – is the definition of a champion. Her leap of 5 feet, 10 inches was good enough to capture the gold medal in the high jump at last weekend’s indoor state meet and was just two inches shy of the state record. She barely missed on her attempt at 6 feet, ¼ inch to break the record.
Her jump of 5’ 10” is the best in the country this year at the high school level, and coach Bill Smith recognizes that athletes of Holland’s caliber don’t come along very often.
“She really is a very, very good athlete,” the Rams’ coach said. “She has a lot of natural ability. If she wasn’t high jumping, she would probably still be starring in soccer.
“She realized at some point that the ceiling doing the high jump was much higher.”
Holland actually became involved in track in seventh grade simply to stay in shape for soccer, a sport she had been playing since she was a youngster.
“I did it to keep up with soccer,” she said. “I wasn’t exactly fond of track because it was running, and I didn’t like it very much.
“Soccer was my thing my entire life.”
Her middle school coach wasted little time before introducing Holland to high jump.
“I was good at it,” she admits. “Looking back, I remember doing it completely wrong. In the beginning, I guess I didn’t really have enough speed in my jump to get any height.
“High jump is the kind of thing – you’re going to feel really awkward the first couple of practices or even longer depending on how quickly you get the hang of it. It’s not exactly a natural thing like running, but I learned over time and through training and practicing a lot.”
By the time she was in 10th grade, Holland – who grew up playing travel soccer for Deep Run and later the Pennridge Stingers – had opted to walk way from a sport that had been her passion.
“It was really difficult for me to give up soccer, but now – I still miss it, but I don’t regret giving it up,” Holland said.
As a freshman in high school, Holland was regularly clearing 5-4 or 5-5and finished fifth at the state indoor meet although she didn’t make it to outdoor states that year.
One year later, Holland had upped her jumps by an inch and finished fifth at both the indoor and outdoor state meets. A great season by most standards, but not by Holland’s.
“I medaled, but it wasn’t what I hoped for,” she said. “I didn’t do well when it counted.
“I would jump well at an odd meet at the beginning of the season, and at states, I wouldn’t be able to perform. That was very frustrating.”
Last year was a year of peaks and valleys for Holland.
“At the indoor state meet, I jumped terribly,” she said. “I got a 4-10 or 5-0 or something like that.”
Holland’s sub-par showing was somewhat unexpected after a strong winter season.
“She had a very good winter season and pretty much won everything until the state meet but just didn’t have the right adjustment and got a little too excited,” Smith said.
Holland showed her mettle as a competitor when - the following week at the Nike Indoor Classic - she delivered a dazzling jump of 5 feet, 9 ¼ inches, good enough to earn All-American status and a fourth place finish.
Shortly thereafter, however, she was slowed by a soccer injury that has haunted her periodically over the course of her career. When she was in fourth grade, she suffered a stress fracture in the arch of her right foot.
“It never healed,” Holland said. “I don’t know if I didn’t give it enough rest time, but it just never really healed properly.
“The way you run in high jump, the ‘J’ that you run (to the bar) aggravates it.”
When Holland was in middle school, she re-aggravated the injury. Then last year, she had a recurrence.
“I didn’t really do too much last year,” she said. “We just rested it, and all I did was high jump at meets when my foot was feeling okay.
“We would shut it down if it ever hurt, and I wasn’t practicing very much. It was like that all season – resting and saving for the big things that really mattered, otherwise I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to jump at all.”
Holland opted to sit out the league meet, and although still far from 100 percent, she finished second at districts and then went out at the state meet and nailed a jump of 5-8, good enough to capture the coveted gold medal.
“I think Annie not being successful last winter was a big motivator for her,” Smith said. “She went up to Nike and realized she belonged with the elite athletes.
“Timing is everything. She’s had some bad luck with injuries at the wrong time. She’s always had the capability of being very good, and it’s just all come together for her.”
With a pair of gold medals already in her possession, Holland has her sights set high this season. In addition to breaking the state record, she is hoping to repeat as state champion.
“Of course, I want to win again, but I try not to stress myself out or put too much pressure on myself,” she said.
Beyond her natural athletic talent, Holland also possesses a mental toughness that is rare in any sport and sets her apart from her competitors.
“I think something that is unique is that I don’t let the competition get to me,” she said. “If I miss a height, it doesn’t faze me. It’s easy for me to move on to the next jump and keep competing.”
Holland also excels in the 100-meter high hurdles. She competes in the 200 meter and 4x200 relay and will undoubtedly be doing some long jump since she is the Rams’ best at that event as well.
“She has high standards and high goals,” Smith said of his senior star. “Her work ethic has developed.
“Understanding what it takes to be an elite athlete is extremely difficult, and she understands that now.”
As for her foot, Holland – who is using a device to stimulate blood flow – is feeling relatively healthy.
“After a lot of working out or a big competition, it will hurt, but I just let it rest for a couple of days, and it’s usually okay,” she said. “I’ve gotten another MRI, and it’s shown that it’s healing a little bit.”
With her long list of accomplishments, Holland was on the wish list of many colleges. She narrowed her final list to Penn, Buffalo, Syracuse and the Air Force Academy.
“It came down to the Air Force Academy and Penn,” Holland said. “They’re both such great opportunities, but when it came down to it, Colorado is a little far away, and the military is not really my thing.
“Penn – there is no down side. The team is great, and I’ll be set for life. When it all came down to it, it really wasn’t even a question.”
A member of the National Honor Society, Holland is an excellent student but acknowledged that her performance in track undoubtedly tipped the scales for Penn.
“My grades are good, but I think the high jump really helped me get in,” she said. “When I heard I got in, it was the best day of my life. It was wonderful.”
If the past is any indication, Holland has many more wonderful days still ahead of her.
