Crossing the finish line first, and helping her relay team do that, was part of Cymia Yourish’s experience as a student athlete for St. John’s College High School in Washington these past four years.
“It’s very rewarding,” she said, adding that when crossing the finish line, she thinks about all the practices that made finishing first possible. “It also makes you want to continue to do the work.”
This school year, Yourish again was named to the Washington Post’s All-Met first team for girls’ track. The newspaper noted that she was “the fastest D.C. runner in the 400, 500 and 600, plus she ran on the fastest 4x400 (3:47.32) and sprint medley (4:02.80) from a D.C. school.”
The track star said she likes it “because it’s a team sport, and also an individual sport. I’ve been able to grow as an individual and grow as a team (member), and be there for my teammates.”
Yourish initially earned Washington Post All-Met first team honors in girls’ track as a St. John’s freshman in 2022, after she raced to four gold medals at the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championships in the 400-meter dash, the 300-meter hurdles, the 4x200-meter relay and the 4x400-meter relay, and led her team to an overall first place finish. She also earned first team All-Met honors in 2024 and 2025.
The Washington resident, who turns 18 on May 31, is the daughter of Brian Yourish and Heidi Eitel, and she has five older brothers and sisters.
Her other athletic accomplishments at St. John’s included being named the Gatorade District of Columbia Girls Track & Field Player of the Year for 2023-24 and for 2022-23, recognizing her as D.C.’s best high school girls track & field athlete.
Competing in track, Yourish said, has helped her “learn to be committed and work hard every day,” and also develop good nutrition habits and a good sleeping schedule, while making her schoolwork a priority. “You have to have good grades to practice and compete,” she said. “I use it for my motivation.”
This fall, Yourish will be attending Baylor University in Texas on a track scholarship, where she plans to compete in the 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles. She is interested in studying sports media and maybe working in that field someday. As an intern in the St. John’s Communications Office, she assisted with photography and videography, covering school sports, dances and other activities.
One of her favorite classes at St. John’s was “Minority Voices in American Literature.”
“I like to learn about other cultures and what other people go through,” she said.
Yourish, who is Christian, said that attending a Catholic high school “opened up my ideas and opinions on religion and my faith.”
As her June 6 graduation for the class of 2025 at St. John’s College High School approached, she expressed gratitude for her experience there.
“The way St. John’s is built makes sure you prioritize the right things, just knowing there are people that always care about you,” she said. “…The staff showed they cared about me and wanted me to succeed. I heard that and saw that, and took that (my schoolwork) more seriously.”
In a few months, Yourish will be taking classes and running track at Baylor, with another finish line in mind. Her goal is to compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. “I think it’s realistic,” she said confidently.
