TOWSON, Md. – When Arianna Waller first started running track in ninth grade, she never envisioned setting records, running in a Penn Relays Championship of America race, being a member of a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship squad or leaving a legacy.
 
Yet, the affable Waller has accomplished all of that and more during a memorable career competing for the Towson University women's track and field team, which is currently ranked sixth in the United States Track and Field Cross-Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) weekly regional index.
 
Already a member of the school record 4 x 100-meter relay team, Waller has an opportunity to create more memories for the Tigers when they compete in the CAA Championships at Elon University beginning Friday morning.
 
Waller and the Tigers will be looking to win their second CAA title in three years. Waller was a member of the winning 4 x 100-meter relay team last year at the CAA Championships.
 
"The first week of practice was terrible," Waller said with a laugh last week during practice as she reminisced about her first track experience. "I didn't know anything about track and never ran before. I was like why would anyone want to do this sport? My older brother (Christopher) was like stick with it for a month. He helped me love the sport. Before I knew it, I started to be pretty good. I didn't think about running track in college until my sophomore year."
 
Waller hasn't slowed down.
 
She ran a season best time of 11.96 seconds in the 100-meter dash at the Morgan State Legacy Meet on April 19. In that same meet, she teamed with Shamika Burton, Liz Reid and Crystal Johnson to set the school record in the 4 x 100-meter relay (45.65 seconds). Last week, the Tigers ran 45.76 in the Championship of America race. It was the first relay in Towson history to qualify for a prestigious Penn Relays Championship of America race.
 
Waller is busy off of the track too.
 
A health science major, Waller is looking to attend graduate school for speech pathology. She currently works at Celebree Learning Center with preschool kids. The experience provides Waller with her greatest joy. Waller works in the morning, attends classes and practices in the afternoons and monitors tutoring before returning home around 9 p.m.
 
"It is a big commitment, but I enjoy it," Waller said. "Sometimes it doesn't always feel like work. Language is a big thing just for kids in general. Stuttering, accents, speech disorders, and anything associated with speech is something I am really passionate about. I always knew I wanted to be in health care in general."
 
Combining competitive excellence, character, passion, and confidence, Waller's career has been one to treasure.
 
When Waller was 4 years old, she believed soccer would be her calling. Then she reached high school and things changed. Sometimes life has better plans for you then you have for yourself.
 
"When I got to high school, I found out that I wasn't good at soccer," Waller said. "I just kicked the ball really fast and nobody could beat me to the net. I tried out for soccer and that didn't work out. I was heartbroken. I cried after tryouts and I told my mom, I don't know what to do because I've been an athlete all my life. My brother was running track at the time. He was like 'you should come out for the track team. You're fast and you'd do well.' I did it and never looked back."