By By Drew Buono

Freshman cross-country sensation Mary Sullivan is just that-sensational.

She has been running competitively for only three years, but is considered one of the best runners on the team. Her first race was just a precursor as to how well she can and will perform for the Blue and Gold over the next three years.

It was at the Wagner Invitational on Sept. 10 where Sullivan blew the competition away, finishing with a time of 18:20.94, beating the second place finisher (Wagner’s Meaghan Robbins) by a commanding 1:19. The time set a new Pride record, breaking Shannon Semski’s previous mark by 12 seconds, and also broke a 24-year old Wagner Invitational record.

Not many people can enjoy the early success Sullivan received, but she did not let it get to her head.

“I try to be the best and as such I put in a lot work,” the modest Sullivan said.

Sullivan, indeed, does work hard, on and off the track. She is enrolled in New College and goes to her four classes five days a week for a total of 16 credits.

“The school work isn’t as hard as I expected, but that’s good for me because it leaves me more time to practice for the next meet,” she said.

Sullivan practices a lot during the week.

“I usually run about 40 to 45 miles per week,” she said. “We run about four miles during our morning practices and then run for another two hours during our afternoon practice which begins at 4 p.m.”

This doesn’t give Sullivan much free time, yet when she does have some time she likes to go back to her home in Westhampton Beach, N.Y.

“I was shopping in King Kullen one time and it was like everyone in the store knew who I was,” she said. “They all looked at me and told me what a great job I was doing and to keep it up. It was really cool and exciting.”

People were also commenting about how differently she looked from a few years ago.

“I used to be chubby and I realized I wanted to get into shape,” she said. “My step-mother is a personal trainer and she asked if I wanted to run with her and that’s how I got into cross-country.”

That conversation played a big role in Sullivan’s life. After awhile, she even started to realize that cross-country was more than just a convenient fitness program.

“I always played softball in high school, but after my junior year I realized how much I enjoyed running and I decided to give up softball,” Sullivan said. “I wanted to focus on training for cross-country instead.”

Sullivan’s times just kept getting better throughout those two years and soon she was battling for the number one spot on the team and drawing some interest from collegiate coaches. Pride coach James Sewell was one of the first to make a pitch.

“I remember making my visit to the University and coach Sewell had the whole team come out and meet me,” she said. “He told me about everything that the University could provide, and it left a really favorable impression on me.”

As for school, Sullivan is not sure where it will lead her.

She has a lot of ideas about majors including nurse practitioner, exercise specialist and even education, perhaps working with autistic children. Her dream, though, is to become a professional athlete for the triathlon..

“I like to watch them on television and I love taking part in the physical aspect of the sport- swimming, biking, and running, of course,” she said.