Last year, Tanya Simora won first place in state in javelin throwing.

Now as a senior, Simora is looking ahead for what’s next for her track and field career, especially as a commit for the University of Washington.

Simora gave insight into how her commitment came about.

“It all started back in May during my junior year of track. I got a message from Andrew Ninow, the throwing coach from the University of Washington. [I] was super excited because UW was definitely one of my dream schools,” Simora said.

Simora attributes not only her athletic abilities but her academic ones to her commitment to UW.

“I mainly just kept working hard in not only my athletics but academics and just kept doing what I was doing,” Simora said.

After getting into contact with Ninow, Simora says she began to feel excitement when she visited the UW campus for the first time.

“Going to see the campus and an actual practice and the intensity of it just really got me excited to continue track and field in college,” Simora said.

However, Simora was not always set on the University of Washington. After receiving an offer from Oregon State University, Simora says it was a tough choice.

“After comparing both UW and Oregon State, I talked with my parents and decided that UW was the best fit for me. I loved the campus, the team and all the resources that UW offered,” Simora said. “I wanted to go to a school that I knew could help me get to the next level and I could tell that the coaching staff was serious and ultimately believe in me.”

According to Simora, the best advice she can give to future recruits is to enjoy the process.

“This is what you put all those tough practices in for, so enjoy it as much as possible. Don’t look at only the offer the university is giving but the programs, the team and the campus,” Simora said.