Research Study: Local Graduate Highlights the Need for Gender Equity in Sports Science
Ava Pendley, a Colonial Forge graduate in the class of 2026, transformed her personal experiences as a runner into meaningful research on female injuries in running sports. Her research, developed during her junior and senior years as a Commonwealth Governor’s School student, reflects her academic curiosity and lived experience, offering insight into how biological differences shape athletic performance and recovery.
“I was always interested in how females and males are differently affected by the same training, especially after sustaining a stress fracture in my freshman year of high school,” Pendley explained. “I wanted to look more closely at how the biological factors contribute to the time gap in running.” This early injury became a turning point, prompting Ava to investigate patterns she’d observed firsthand, but wanted to understand more deeply through data and statistics.
Ava’s background as a student-athlete and researcher gave her a unique perspective. Having participated in an externship during the summer before her junior year and taken various sports medicine classes as a student, Pendley had a clearer idea of what all of the data she collected throughout her active research displayed, and how survey responses from female versus male runners correlated with supported research and studies. “As a runner,” Ava said, “I better understand the impact that a small injury has on your season, and common causes of injury could be.”
Pendley identified significant trends in injury rates and performance development between males and females. “I found that females are more prone to injury than males due to many biological factors, and they improve more inconsistently over time, while males normally improve at a consistent rate throughout their high school career.”
These differences are due to components such as varying physiological endurances, body composition, and pacing strategies for athletes. Her findings highlight the need for more individualized training approaches and greater awareness of how gender-specific factors influence athletic outcomes.
Looking ahead, Ava hopes her work will extend beyond the high school level. “I would love to get my research published or possibly build on this idea in a new study using a college team,” she says. Expanding her research to collegiate athletes could provide a larger data set and deeper insight into long-term development and injury prevention.
Ava’s continuing passion for running and athletics, as well as dedication, has paid off, as she is committed to running at Johns Hopkins University as a molecular and cellular biology major on the pre-medical track. Her research on athletic injuries aligns naturally with her interest in medicine, suggesting a future in which she may continue exploring the intersection of science, health, and performance.
Through her work, Ava contributes to a growing conversation about equity in sports science and exemplifies how personal experience can drive impactful research.
PHOTOGRAPHS:
Credits to Bryce Nearman, Matt Smith, & Nadia Wilt
