In her senior year cross country season, Helena Szep of Middletown shattered multiple Middletown High School North (MHSN) previous best times. Now, she aims to build a legacy at Marist University.
In her time running at MHSN, she’s broken five records, including the mile record with a time of five minutes flat, three 5K course records and was the first ever girl state sectional champion from MHSN. With these feats, Szep achieved first team All-Shore according to the Shore Track Coaches Association, first team in group three for the state, and first team all-county according to the New Jersey Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association.
With every medal Szep has earned, her running career has improved, but it wasn’t always this positive.
“I dealt with a ton of anxiety with the expectations that I was holding myself to,” Szep said. “They weren’t even being placed upon me by my parents or my coaches or my teammates. It was something that I was doing to myself and I didn’t know why.”
Szep’s dedication shined throughout her commitment process. Szep recieved offers from many NCAA Division II and III schools at first, however, after she started gaining momentum in her senior year, Szep was able to garner Division I offers.
Szep narrowed it down to Lafayette College, Lehigh University and Marist University. With both Lafayette and Lehigh being engineering based, she ultimately chose Marist for its rigorous communications and arts courses. Marist also offers an extensive track and field program, creating the perfect balance that Szep was looking for.
“It ended up just coming down to which school I felt best would fulfill the pathway that I want to take academically,” she said. “I looked at it from the perspective of, ‘if I never ran, which of these schools would I go to,’ and the choice was Marist…I think I’m definitely up for the challenge, and I’m excited to keep applying my love for the sport somewhere where that love is valued even more.”
The atmosphere of Marist’s athletic program specifically drew Szep’s interest and excitement as she navigated the college application process.
“The team itself reminded me so much of my team back at home because it just felt very close across the girls and boys. In that sense, it felt like I wasn’t leaving home and that any amount of change would be manageable.”
Though her commitment process has come to an end, she’s still building her resume for the next level. On Dec. 21, she achieved first in the two mile at the Bishop Loughlin Games and placed seventh in the entire country, adding to her confidence that she will thrive in the next level.
“I’ve heard from many collegiate athletes that it is no easy feat to make it, and I think collegiate running is the step up for me that makes sense at this point in my career,” Szep said.
With the future at the front of her mind, Szep sends words of encouragement to her future self: “As the change you face gets bigger, so do you. So really, you’re never facing anything that is too big for you to manage.”
