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PORTAGE, Wis. — Three-sport athlete Greta Shortreed likes setting personal goals during her cross country season but enjoys the team aspect as well.
“You have such an amazing support system that you get to build strong connections here," said Shortreed.
Coach Kari Krakow leaned on her performance and leadership.
“She puts her mind to something and look out. She’s gonna just go. We have a lot of really good student-athletes, and she’s just raised that bar," said Kari Krakow, Portage Girls Cross Country Coach.
Shortreed also runs long-distance races for the track team in the spring.
“Physically running is a major release for me. Runner’s high is real," said Shortreed.
She also plays basketball and helps coach youth teams.
“When you have someone like Greta who steps up and models that for our youth, they look up to her like she’s a professional athlete. That is just a great example for our youth," said Ed Carlson, Portage High School Athletic Director.
But there’s a lot more to her than athletics. Academically, Shortreed is the top-ranked senior at Portage.
“I jokingly told her, I have no doubt you’ll be the President of the United States and she just smiled," said Krakow.
She may be on the right track. Shortreed is the president of the Future Business Leaders of America for the state of Wisconsin.
“Greta is doing a fantastic job of leading our state and being a good role model for our local members to get them more involved. To see one of our own standing on stage as one of the twelve state officers is a pretty unique opportunity," said Jan Imhoff, Portage High School FBLA Advisor.
Shortreed hopes to attend UW-Madison or the University of Chicago next year. She's undecided on her major but said it likely won’t be business related.
“That’s one of the big things that I like to advertise in FBLA is that it’s not necessarily about business," said Shortreed. "I take a pretty prominent leadership role there, and leadership has really been my focus.”
As she decides her next steps, those around Shortreed think she’s on the right path.
“Maybe her future employer has already met her, and they can reminisce about, 'Oh we met at FBLA back in the day,'" said Imhoff.
Shortreed credited her parents and older sisters for inspiring her to work hard.
“Whether she’s in medicine or law, whatever she puts her mind to, she'll be the best at what she does," said Krakow.
Wherever she ends up, the future looks bright for Shortreed, with lessons from her high school days guiding the way.