LITHIA, Fla. —  Newsome High School senior Anika Shah is Spectrum Bay News 9's athlete of the month, and with good reason. Her ability to excel includes her work on the track and her academic career. 

This senior is always running with a full heart, because she says running taps into her competitive spirit.

There’s something about wanting to be the best and to do the best that drives Anika, according to those that know her.

“She wants to excel at everything in her life,” Newsome coach Orlando Greene told Spectrum News. “And she does a good job of merging the academics, the athletics and her community service activities as well. That really makes her very special.”

During Anika’s time with the Newsome's cross country team, the Wolves have finished as state runner-ups the past two seasons. And speaking of numbers, Anika has a pretty impressive one in the classroom.

“So my GPA is a 9.52,” she said. “Yes, it’s pretty high.”

That’s right, a GPA that’s almost in double digits. That’s straight A’s all four years of high school in some of the toughest classes a student can take. 

“I’m pretty competitive in all aspects of my life,” Anika said. “I think it’s not necessarily that I strive for perfection, but I always want to do a good job in anything I’m doing. Cause if I’m putting in time doing something, I want to make sure I can get a good result out of it.”

As much as she loves reading, it’s math that has Anika’s heart — it's her go-to subject.

“It’s very clear,” she said. “It’s something that you can solve and get an answer to, and I like that.”

She says that’s how running is too — it’s a problem, in a way, that Anika likes to solve.

“Running is mental and physical,” she said “That’s why I’m really attracted to it. I think a lot of running is kind of putting yourself out there and just seeing how far you can go until you can’t anymore. 

“So that’s what I really like about running. It’s very cut and dry, very clear. Like, it’s just you and the ground. You’re just running to see how far you can go.”