On Wednesday, March 20th, at 7:30pm Runner's High will be hosting a "College Night" at their Freehold location. The night is completely free and open to all high school athletes and their parents looking to learn more about college recruitment and competition. No RSVP is required.
The event will allow high school student athletes and parents to ask about what recruiting brings and what competing at the collegiate level is like, and they can receive answers directly from coaches and athletes who are involved with or have experienced that process.
NJ MileSplit will be on-site recording video the questions and answers, this information will be useful for everyone looking to compete at the next level. We last covered this event in 2013 and it proved to be a great learning experience for those in attendance.
Official Flyer Below
Introductions on Some of the Panel
These were written by Runner's High as part of their event previews.
Travis Mahoney - Travis grew up locally, and competed at Old Bridge High School before blossoming into one of the NCAA's best distance runners and steeplechasers at Temple University. Upon graduation, Travis joined NJNYTC and HOKA ONE ONE and competes professionally in the steeplechase, along with distances between 1500m and 5000m. Always inspiring the local youth, Travis currently coaches distance at Old Bridge HS. In his most recent indoor campaign, Travis set PRs at 5k (13:35), indoor 3k (7:48) and mile (3:57.8).
Amanda Marino - competed locally at Jackson Memorial High School before going on to do big things at Villanova University. A 2x National Champion in Cross Country while competing for the Wildcats, nabbed two top 10 finishes at NCAAs. Upon graduation, Amanda bumped up to the marathon distance where she is a 3x Olympic Trials Qualifier and will be completing in the 2020 Olympic Trials at the 26.2 distance.
Allie Wilson - Current Monmouth University Hawk, Allie Wilson is one of the NCAA's brightest middle distance stars. With a PR of 2:02, Allie recently places 4th overall at this past weekend's NCAA Championships.
Rob Napolitano - or "Frosh" know in local running circles, excelled at the high school level running under our own Rob DeFilippis at Red Bank Catholic. Upon graduation, Rob went on to compete for the Lions of Columbia University where he shattered the elusive 4 minute barrier in the mile. Teammates with Travis on NJNYTC, Frosh is currently tearing it up on the professional level, as he recently ran a PR in the mile of 3:54.2.
Kimarra McDonald - Former Tennessee University standout/World Championships qualifier in 2017 in the 800m
Amanda Marino - Former Jackson Memorial/Villanova University standout - 3x Olympic Trials Qualifier
Megan Lindstrom - Former Monmouth Regional standout/Currently competing at Monmouth University
Coach Todd Briggs - Head Track & Field/XC Coach at Freehold Township
Coach Damon Godfrey - Head XC/Distance Coach at Holmdel High School
Coach Rob DeFilippis - Head Track & Field/XC Coach at Red Bank Catholic
Coach Danny Rapcienski - Head XC/Distance Coach & Guidance Counselor at Monmouth Regional HS
Coach Mike Murawski - Head Track & Field/XC Coach at Georgian Court University
Coach Joe Compagni - Director of Track & Field/Cross Country at Monmouth University