Harper Howe, graduating class of 2025 from Housatonic, will be returning home to Chicago in the fall as a walk-on in DePaul University’s track team. She and three of her classmates on the HVRHS track and field team are attending college through the track and field program at their designated schools.
Kyle McCarron — attending Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut — and Gabi Titone — attending Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia — will attend their designated colleges as Division 1 cross-country and track athletes. “I am excited to be a part of the Marymount cross country and track team,” Gabi Titione said. “I just know that it is a community I will thrive within.” These schools offer new opportunities for the runners and new challenges on a whole new level.
Mia Dodge, who is attending Western New England, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, will be attending her university for both soccer and track. She will have to “get herself to the point of switching” from 300 meters to 400 meters in the hurdles.
The athletes already spend much of their time dedicated to their sports. Titone goes on runs six days a week, and she can also commonly be found at her local gym. Similarly, all four athletes attend track practices five times a week, which consist of a two-hour-long practice, while also making time for their personal workouts and runs, which adds about an extra six to ten hours to their athletic schedule each week.
The students know that the work they originally put in is only half the battle. As a walk-on, Harper Howe — attending DePaul University in Chicago — must fight for her spot in the Division 1 meets. While she is on the team and will attend their practices, she has to push herself to participate in the competition. Howe says that she needs to cut off“two and some change seconds for the 400 and one and some change for the 600” — the six hundred is an indoor competition. Without cutting those seconds, Howe will only be able to attend the practices and watch the meets.
Even though it is an uphill battle for Howe, she will be closer to her distant family members and reunited with her old hometown, which is only “a short hour away,” says Howe, compared to the 12 hours she faces now.Through her grit and determination, Howe will make her way in the Windy City of Chicago.
All four athletes have worked hard to achieve their goals. As their teammate Hannah Johnson says, “They put their heart and soul into every race that they run.”
