Henry Wynne knows how it feels to accomplish his goals; he’s the 2016 NCAA Indoor Champion in the mile and was named the ACC Outdoor and Indoor Track Performer of the Year. He finished third in 1,500m at the NCAA Outdoor Championship to earn first-team All-America honors. In July 2016, he also won the 1,500m for Team USA at the NACAC Under-23 Championships in El Salvador, his first international experience. He notes, “Winning the Indoor Championship was surreal, it took a while for it to sink in fully. I couldn’t have done it without all of the support I received from teammates, coaches, friends and family.”
In the classroom, Wynne is an economics major, a decision inspired by introductory courses he took with Professors Kenneth Elzinga and Lee Coppock. He took a political economy class with Professor Evan Pivonka and explained, “He’s a great professor and our class discussion always made our 50-minute session fly by.”
Wynne is involved in SACH (Student-Athletes Committed to Honor), a program that aims to create an open and honest forum for discussion of honor as a whole and as it specifically relates to the student-athlete population. He also serves as a Student-Athlete Mentor (SAM) member, a peer-to-peer resource to other students on his team to help prevent substance abuse. He notes, “I am glad that I have the opportunity to voice my opinions on student-athlete life and try to guide other student-athletes to help them make the most of their college-athletic experience.”
His schedule is extremely busy with practice starting at 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. then on to class, afternoon practice or training room time and finishing the day with dinner, study/tutoring time and then home for needed sleep. He notes that being a UVA student-athlete has, “Made me a more rounded and overall better person. The relationships and lessons I have learned during my time here will stick with me for the rest of my life.”
For Wynne, winning the NCAA Championship is definitely a standout memory so far at UVA. He shares, “I was lucky enough to have some of my teammates there cheering me on and crossing the finish line first felt like a dream come true. It was just amazing to see how much support I had from everyone in my life! There is no other feeling like finally achieving a goal you have worked for so many years to accomplish.”
Wynne knows that his success is made possible in part because of the generosity of VAF donors. He said, “I am so thankful for the generous donations from all of the VAF donors. Their continued support allows my teammates and me to pursue our dreams in the classroom and on the track and field.”
Donor contributions to the VAF Annual Fund support student-athletes such as Henry in many ways including scholarships, the Athletics Academic Affairs program and sport-specific operational budgets.