When it comes to dual sport athletes, most people think of high school students. But for Mallory Paruszewski, she was able to compete in multiple sports during her freshman year at Northwestern. Now entering her sophomore year, she does not compete in cross country anymore, but she still is a member of the track and field team as well as being a cheerleader.
When she was growing up in Fort Worth, Texas, Paruszewski had dreamed about being a cheerleader.
“For cheer, my dream was to always be a flyer, which is the girl at the top of formations that is being held up by the people on the ground” Paruszewski said.
From the time that she entered the fifth grade, she began to chase her cheerleading dream. When she got to seventh grade, she began to compete in track and field, and has been competing ever since.
By the time she was in high school in Meridian, Texas, she was competing in the 100 meter and 300-meter hurdles, which become the 400-meter hurdles in the college level.
“My favorite part about the hurdles is the adrenaline when you are trying to beat the other people over the hurdle before them,” Paruszewski said.
While Paruszewski has several dreams in front of her in the world of athletics, she also has a dream in a vastly different field.
“My main dream is to be a model, especially doing commercials, print modelling and magazines,” Paruszewski said.
However, this creates a conflict between her dream of modelling, and her dream of being a flyer for the cheer team. Paruszewski explained that in order to be a flyer, you typically need to be on the smaller side. On the other hand, you need to be tall to be a model.
This has led to a compromise between the two dreams, as Paruszewski will be cheering on the Rangers, but she will be the base instead of the flyer.
Paruszewski has one other goal that is at the top of the list, which is to make her mom and dad proud. She also wants to be a great role model for her two twin sisters, Burkly and Faith.
For some people, they might look at what all Paruszewski does and feel stressed for her. However, balancing being a dual sport athlete and chasing her dreams both on and off the field is a typical day for her.
