Olivia Guckian, track and cross country

Committed senior Olivia Guckian will be attending Merrimack College in North Andover, MA after being recruited for their Division I track and cross country programs. Guckian plans to study nursing.

When did you first start running for cross country and track and field?

“My freshman year, I started field hockey for the fall season, and then I decided I would try doing track when one of my friends told me, ‘You should do track with me,’ and I started it, and I really enjoyed it and loved it so I just kept doing it.”

What is your favorite thing about running?

“My favorite thing is probably the team. I love just going out and running with my friends. I think it’s really enjoyable… I love being able to have an instant group of friends on the team, it’s really nice.”

What position do you play and what do you most enjoy about playing that position?

“I usually do distance running [for track], so I run the mile and the two mile, and then at cross country, I run the 5k. I’d like to say I like to do the distance more. I can go faster with distance, and I like the mental stamina aspect of it, like the mental toughness you need to run many laps around the track.”

Why did you want to run at the collegiate level?

“The coach reached out to me, although originally I wasn’t planning on running in college. I just wanted to go to college since running is a lot, especially playing three sports. The coach was super nice and made sure I knew this wasn’t going to take over my whole life and that I still had time for other things. I also wanted an instant group of friends on campus.”

What about Merrimack College enticed you to play for them?

“Mostly they have a really great nursing program which made me look at their college. Again, the coach was super nice. I love the girls on the team. I went for an overnight visit, so I met with them and they’re super nice. I was between a couple schools, but I think the positivity of the team and the environment made me want to run for them.”

What are you most looking forward to in these next four years of your life?

“Probably the group of friends it’ll give me, and the team aspect of it. Obviously, the times that I can run. I’m really interested in how having a new coach will help me improve. Maybe I could even start running some different events. Mostly I just want to see how I can improve.”

Do you have hopes to run beyond the collegiate level?

“Probably not. I obviously want to try to run marathons after college as a hobby, but I am not looking for a career in this.”

Do you have any ideas of majors or other focuses you’d like to pursue at Merrimack?

“I’ll probably go into nursing; that’s my main focus. I already got into their nursing school, which is great. Obviously, nursing and running is going to be hard to balance, but I think I’m ready, so I’m excited.”

Do you have anything else that you think is important to include about your experiences with running track and cross country or your commitment?

“I think Algonquin has a really great track and cross country program; the coaches are super nice and supportive, and I think they have a great team atmosphere, which made me want to continue at the collegiate level.”