Renee Bettinger is a senior sprinter for the Thunder women's track and field tea. She earned All-American honors in 2011 competing at the
NCAA DIvision III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Below is a brief interview with the All-American.
Q: What is your major?
A: I’m majoring in ACS Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry.
Q: What are looking to do following graduation?
A: After graduation I will be attending pharmacy school at a yet to be decided location. I am excited to see where God will lead me as I make the important decision of which pharmacy school to attend and continue to serve Him in this new way.
Q: Why did you choose to attend Wheaton and run track?
A: Wheaton was the perfect size school for me with great academics and a Christian community. After my visit to Wheaton during my senior year of high school where I had the privilege of meeting Coach Bradley and the girls on the team, I knew coming to Wheaton and running track here would be the right decisions for me.
Q: What is your favorite thing about the track team at Wheaton?
A: My favorite thing about Wheaton’s track team is the amazing team members that I get to spend part of almost every day with at practices and meets. They have been a consistent, supportive group of people that I can talk to, laugh with, and compete with. And of course we are all led by incredible coaches who care so much, not only about how we run but also about our personal lives outside of track and our spiritual lives. The team really has been a great place for me to learn how to glorify God through whatever I’m doing.
Q: What do you enjoy most about Wheaton?
A: The Christian community at Wheaton has been such a blessing to me during my four years here. Getting to live and study in a place where people have encouraged me spiritually has been a great experience and something that I will really miss when I graduate.
Q: What was the experience like of competing and earning All-American honors at Nationals last spring?
A: It was one of the best experiences of my life! I was very excited simply to have made it to Nationals, and it was awesome to get to cheer on my other teammates who got to compete there as well. After my preliminary race it was a shock to me that I had made finals since I finished 4
th in my heat. It was an honor to get to compete against the nation’s fastest 100m runners in the final race and walk away as an All-American.
