On Wednesday, April 16, 2014, Pennsbury senior Erica Gray was recognized at a special news conference for signing a letter of intent to compete in cross country at James Madison University. To view photos of the signing, please visit the Photo Gallery.
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Erica Gray – James Madison University (Cross Country)
Major: Marketing
Final list of colleges: JMU, Delaware, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Penn State
Reasons for choosing JMU: “In the end, I was deciding between James Madison and Delaware. When I was deciding between the two schools, I decided that JMU was the right choice for me. The minute I drove onto the campus I was like, ‘I have to go here.’ It felt right. It was so pretty. I loved the campus, the coach seemed like a really great coach – he knew what he was talking about, and the girls were a great group of girls. I picked them because I definitely wanted to be teammates with them and run with them. Also, they have a really good business program and the fourth best food in the nation, so you can’t go wrong with that.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in cross country at the collegiate level? “I ran track in middle school, and I played soccer my whole life, so I wasn’t really thinking that track and cross country would be my main sport that I would dedicate all of high school to. I actually didn’t know what cross country was when I was in middle school. When I went out for the team, I succeeded, and I really loved the girls and the coaching – it was kind of like family. It was a team aspect that I hadn’t really experienced before. It’s a very mental sport, and I just loved it.
“In my freshman year when Morgan Perry committed to Pitt, I was like, ‘Maybe I can run in college. That will help me get into a great school.’ Also, I don’t think I could give up running yet. My junior year I started looking at schools, but since my sophomore year, I realized I wanted to run D-1 and nothing else.”
Coach Tim Cass says: “She’s probably one of the most consistent racers we’ve had. Basically, we know that if she’s in a relay or if we need points in a league meet, we’re going to get them from her, and that’s all because of her discipline and focus.”
Coach Greg Sargent says: “From a running perspective, she’s a hard worker. She is extremely coachable, and she’s diligent about doing the little things. She comes to practice every day prepared. When it comes down to racing, she’s grown from her freshman year to a senior now where she’s had the privilege of running on a great team with great athletes, and she’s learned. Now she’s really taken a leadership role on the team. The girls look up to her – they look up to her for inspiration, for thoughts on how to run and how to race. She puts in the work and the effort, and the results speak for themselves.”
About Erica:
Favorite food: Ice Cream
Favorite movie: About Time
Favorite music: Pop
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