Boston Globe: "Arouca Finds Her Stride At Westfield"
Kerry Arouca entered Westfield State College four years ago as an unheralded runner, but she will graduate on Saturday as one of the most decorated in program history
Arouca finds her stride at Westfield
May 20, 2010
By Rick Seto, Globe
Correspondent
Kerry Arouca entered Westfield State College four years ago as an
unheralded runner, but she will graduate on Saturday as one of the
most decorated in program history.
The former Whitman-Hanson standout won the ECAC Division 3 title in
the 5,000 meters with a time of 17 minutes, 12.49 seconds last
Friday at Springfield College, finishing 34 seconds ahead of the
runner-up. She will likely conclude her collegiate career at NCAA
Division 3 national championships May 27-29 at Baldwin Wallace
College in Ohio, competing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, as well
as the 5,000 meters. The field will be announced on Monday.
Arouca has earned All-American status three times at Westfield
State. After missing out by one spot in the 5,000 indoors as a
junior, she placed third in the steeplechase, then followed up by
finishing 19th in the cross-country championships last fall and
second in the indoor 5,000. All this from a runner who Westfield
coach Sean O’Brien said was “nothing special out of
high school.’’
An all-league runner at perennial power Whitman-Hanson, Arouca said
track was not a priority when choosing schools.
“I wanted to make friends and stay in shape,’’
said Arouca, an education major. “I liked being on the
varsity team and making the top seven’’ in
cross-country.
What turned her college career around was the appointment of Bill
Devine as the cross-country coach at Westfield State. “He
introduced me to strength training: lifting twice a week, core
training twice a week,’’ Arouca said.
“Beforehand, all I was doing was running — nothing
else. Combining the core, strength, and the running definitely made
me a lot stronger.’’
Her times have dropped dramatically. She went from a 22:02 5K
runner to 17 minutes flat, four seconds off the school record, and
from a 6:04 miler to a 5:03.
“She found a little bit of success, and the more success she
got, she hunkered down and started getting after it,’’
O’Brien said.
Arouca seemed like a natural for the steeplechase, which has 28
hurdles and seven water jumps over 3,000 meters; her first attempt
was 5 seconds off the school record.
“It’s awesome,’’ said Arouca, who won this
year’s New England meet (all divisions) in 10:39.81, but
whose personal best is a school-record 10:31.71, set at the NCAAs
last year. “It keeps your mind off of just running around the
track. The race goes by so quickly. I like the challenge of it.
Every time you go over the water, you think, ‘I hope I do
this right. I hope I don’t fall.’ ’’
