This Week's Student Spotlight: Marykate O'Meara

School: Sophomore at Nanuet High School

Age: 15

Just this past weekend Nanuet's own Marykate O'Meara, headed north to Verona High School in Syracuse, NY, to participate in the

Marykate placed 16th in this race out of 130 girls in the NYS Class B State Championship! She competed against all grade levels including juniors and seniors from across the state.

She has been elected as an individual runner to participate in this coming weekends Federation Championship which includes both public and private high schools. The Federation meet will be held in Wappingers Falls, NY, Nov. 19. Not only will she be representing Nanuet High School but also Section one, which includes Rockland, Westchester and Putnam counties.

She qualified to race in the state meet after placing in the Section Meet.

What is truly impressive is Marykate's dedication to the sport.  She runs cross country in the fall, indoor track in the winter and outdoor track in the spring. Although Cross Country is a fall sport, her training starts in the beginning of the summer.

"We start running in July, I usually meet my teammates at around 7 a.m. every morning during the summer except weekends. Then we practice around five to six days a week starting in late August mixing distance runs and workouts each day. The distance runs are usually between five and eight miles. I have personally run all seven days of the week since August. We also go to camp in Stroudsburg, PA, with a some Section one teams and a few other schools. During the summer I would run twice a day for a few days during the week. I also did a little bit of treading water and core work.  In the summer we did a lot of 8-mile runs around twice a week. In Stroudsburg camp we ran three times a day and did pool workouts," said Marykate.

In addition to a grueling training schedule and proper conditioning, she also maintains a healthy diet. Acknowldging that diet is a key element of running. But the bottom line of what keeps her motivated is her passion for the sport.

"I love cross country, and constantly set new goals for each race I enter. We have a wonderful team, and we feel like a family. My teammates are the ones that introduced me to track and since then I’ve been hooked on running."

For the past two years the Nanuet HS Girls Cross Country team has been ranked in the top ten teams for Class B schools in New York State. Recognition is given to the girls cross country coach Sheri Dempsey.

"Coach (Sheri) Dempsey is a great role model. She was an outstanding runner for Nanuet High School, and UCONN. She came back to Nanuet and now teaches and coaches the Girls Cross Country and Track Teams. I don’t think I would have had such success without Coach Dempsey, she’s great."

A tremendous athlete paired up with a great coach results in exceptional achievements. Since eigth grade Marykate has been recognized and awarded for her star performance in track.

• In 2009 (8th grade) she was named Varsity All League Honorable Mention, All Section, and a National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Scholar Athlete.
• In 2010 (9th grade) she was named Varsity All League, Second Team All-County, All Section, All State 4th Team, and a National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Scholar Athlete.
• In 2011 (10th grade) she won her first invitational by coming in first at the Brewster Invitational, placed 4th in the League, 5th in the County Meet, 5th in  Section 1 Class B, and 16th in the State for NYS Class B.  And she will compete in the Federation championship the weekend of Nov. 19. More awards for 2011 are sure to follow.

Noteworthy is her award for National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Scholar Athlete. Marykate is as exceptional in the classroom as she is on the track. She is taking three honors classes this year and is consistently on the honor roll.

Adding to Marykate's extracurricular activities are the school clubs she is involved with. She participates in W.I.N.(Women’s Issues Now), the newspaper club and the Irish Heritage Club. She is also a lector at the of Church St. Aedans.

Over the summer Marykate assists Coach Dempsey's Nanuet Track Club that is geared towards introducing track to young athletes.

As Marykate prepares for the Federation Championships this coming weekend, Nanuet will be cheering her on along with her family. Her parents Ann and Mike, her brother Mike, 12, and sister Meghan, 4, will be on hand to offer her support as she competes against the best in New York State.

Good luck this weekend Marykate, your community is very proud of you!

Stay tuned to Patch to find out the results of the Cross Country Federation Championship.