On Wedneday, Feb. 17, 2021, Central Bucks West senior Julia Flood was recognized for continuing her cross country and track careers at the University of Hartford.
Julia Flood – University of Hartford (Cross Country/Track & Field)
Major: Undecided
Final list of colleges: Hartford, Temple, Duquesne, La Salle
Reasons for choosing Hartford: “I really liked the coaches – they were really welcoming. I felt like I was really wanted there. That was one of the major factors.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in track and cross country at the collegiate level? “I had always envisioned myself running in college, but it really started my sophomore year. I saw a bunch of people running in college, and I thought that was interesting and it was something I wanted to do.”
Coach Kevin Munnelly says: “Kiki (Bell) and I knew in her first year that she was going to be a star. We didn’t know that cross country would be what she really loved, but that has shown over her four years that that is her forte. In her first year in 2017, she was first in District One – 53 high schools, 370 runners, and she was fourth as a freshman, and she got better in her sophomore, junior and senior years. There were some hiccoughs in senior year, but there were with a lot of kids. In 2018, she ran the fourth fastest time for West at Lehigh, and the only person to beat her was Liz Kearns. She beat Maddie Villalba’s best time at Lehigh. She became fourth on the all-time list here, and Lehigh is the one place we can use as an apples-to-apples place because the course is always the same, and it’s been that way for 20-some years.
“Julia has moved up each year in her importance, but her two years of medalling at states was most impressive because states is a whole different animal. Lehigh is Suburban One and District One – it’s not flat but rolling whereas Hershey is just straight up and down, and she just got better and better and performed even better at the state level. To be there four times and medal twice was just phenomenal. It’s unheard of that a girl does that four years in a row. (Flood was part of West’s gold medal 4x800-meter team at the state meet this spring that saw the Bucks capture the program’s first ever team state championship.)
“Julia is a quiet leader. She runs and pulls others with her. She doesn’t have to say, ‘Let’s all do this.’ She shows that she can, and that’s what she does. She’s not bombastic and out front. She says, ‘We can do this,’ and then she shows them they can do it.”
About Julia:
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite TV show: Twin Peaks
Favorite music: Indie
All SuburbanOneSports.com articles (or portion of articles) can be turned into keepsakes. For information, please click on the following link:https://www.suburbanonesports.com/article/content/turn-online-features-keepsake-posters-0086874
- Log in to post comments
