Track & Field
Favorite athlete: Ranger Suarez
Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: My favorite memory is probably making our DMR team my sophomore year. We qualified for Meet of Champs that year and just all had a really good season. We went to some really cool meets at the Armory and Ocean Breeze. The best part is that they are all still some of my best friends to this day even after they all graduated.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: I fell down a hill in a dual meet and popped out my knee cap. I had to go on crutches and explain to everyone how I fell in a non-contact sport and somehow got hurt.
Music on playlist: Mix of everything from Mr. Rager to Wagon Wheel
Future plans: To continue running at Bloomsburg University and study nursing
Words to live by: “Hungry dogs run faster” – Jason Kelce
One goal before turning 30: To travel as much as I can
One thing people don’t know about me: I love to cook (and eat)
By GORDON GLANTZ
From 1961 to 1997, ABC aired a program called “The Wide World of Sports.” It was known for showing viewers diverse competitions from across the globe and for the catchphrase, “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”
The iconic show – later named by Time magazine as one of the 100 best television programs of all time – was off the air well before Maura Kelly was born, and she admits to having never heard of it.
Nonetheless, the William Tennent senior and incoming freshman distance runner at Bloomsburg University has lived her own version.
She has competed in as many as seven sports – from soccer to a brief and forgettable stint of wrestling – in her lifetime.
The youngest of Beth and Sean Kelly’s three children moved on to play field hockey as a freshman at Tennent before becoming fully enveloped in the running world, from cross country in the fall to indoor track in the winter and outdoor track in the spring.
In addition, she partakes in bocce with Unified Sports, a program that allows participants with and without intellectual disabilities to compete together.
“We have been very lucky to have Maura as a part of our William Tennent High School family since 2021,” said Tennent athletic director John Creighton, who also runs the Unified program. “She leads with integrity, competes with heart, and excels in every arena—athletics, academics, and leadership.
“Her work ethic and commitment have set a standard for others to follow.
Homeward Bound
Following field hockey season in the fall of her freshman year, the athletic vagabond found herself a permanent home as a year-round distance runner.
“I had some really good coaching and mentoring from the older group of girls,” she said. “We were all running for each other, and not just for ourselves.
“The impact they had on my life has been astronomical. They taught me so much and are some of them are still my best friends. They taught me so much, not only about running but about life in general.”
The main lesson she learned is the unique bond of a cross country or track team.
“Running is an individual sport, but they taught me that there is a team aspect to it,” said Kelly. “If you can’t run for yourself, you can still run for your team.”
Although those past mentors have moved on, Kelly tries her best to pay it forward with the younger Panthers.
“Most people from the outside don’t think they see it, but the reality is that everyone on the team is relying on each other,” said Kelly. “Teaching that, and keeping that as a key part of it, is something that I try to implement and keep them grinding forward with it.
“I’m excited for them in the future. I think they can really do some good things.”
Freak Setback
After a strong sophomore year, Kelly experienced a setback as a junior with a freak injury – a dislocated kneecap while running downhill. It not only kept her sidelined and on crutches for three weeks -
the injury affected her times to the point that she started doubting herself.
Consequently, Kelly’s senior year has been all about literally getting her stride back and giving herself viable options as a student-athlete at the next level.
“My senior year in cross country I just wanted to prove that I could get back to my times,” said Kelly. “I worked really hard in the summer, and I ended up PRing. That’s when (college) coaches started to show interest in me. While they were reaching out to me, I was also reaching out to other places.”
The Complete Package
To say Kelly is the complete package would be putting it mildly.
She is not only active in sports, but is a top-level student with a 3.9 GPA to prove it. With a schedule heavy in AP classes, she is in about as many honors society chapters and extracurricular activities that exist.
“I definitely like to challenge myself in school, and I like succeeding in school,” said Kelly, who is in the top 3 percent of her class. “I like pleasing myself, and also other people.
“I’m definitely proud of all my grades. I take a lot of hard classes. School is very important to me. I have always done well in school, but I really became more motivated in middle school. That’s when I really wanted to do a good job in school. I just wanted to be successful in what I did.”
She added that it starts on the home front.
“There was no extra pressure in it, but education has always been important to us,” she said.
Best of Both Worlds
While her father is a teacher at Father Judge and her mother is a social worker, Kelly is not looking to follow in their footsteps.
She has enough nursing role models in her vast family tree that she decided to make that her career path.
“I have a big family, and two of my older cousins are in nursing,” she said. “They just love it. I know other people doing nursing now who also love it. It was just something that seemed real interesting. There is a lot of growth in nursing, and I can see myself wanting to go back to school. Once I settled on that, it was just a matter of picking the best program.”
When it came time to choose a college, academics clearly came first. Schools such as Pitt and Duquesne and Penn State all have excellent nursing programs, but Kelly preferred to find a place where she could both keep running and get a strong nursing education.
Enter Bloomsburg, where her older sister, Shannon, also ran.
“Bloomsburg had the best of both worlds, with still being able to run at a good level while they also have a nursing program that is very good,” said Kelly. “I’m definitely excited. There is so much growth with nursing. There is a lot that you can do with it.”
As far as running goes, former Tennent track coach Jim Michaels sees no reason why Kelly can’t continue to set new standards for herself at the collegiate level.
“The sky is limit for her growth and success, as she embarks on running at the college level,” he said.
Michaels was Kelly’s cross country and track coach through last season, and she credits both him and coach Vinnie Murphy with turning her into a strong distance runner with the right mentality.
For his part, Michaels was impressed with Kelly’s desire and willingness to compete.
From there, it all fell into place.
“She was quick to pick up the philosophy that every day had a purpose toward growth as an athlete and individual,” he said. “Maura was diligent in putting in the necessary work and extra efforts needed to be a competitive three-season distance runner.”
No matter the event, she chose flight over fright and gave it her best.
Said Michaels: “Some of the best traits she had were never shying away from a challenge – racing in anything from the 800, 1600, 3200, 4x6 and 4x4 – or to mentor a new runner, or to support a teammate or competitor with the shared understanding of the discipline of running and competing.”
Feeling Unified
Kelly first got into the Unified program as a fill-in, but she found it so completely rewarding that she never left it.
“I first got involved through Mr. Creighton,” she said. “He needed someone to fill in a spot one day. I popped in, and I just kept on coming whenever I could.”
As an aspiring nurse who wears her heart on her sleeve, she sees the value in the activity and hopes other Tennent students get involved.
“I love the Unified programs that we have at our school,” said Kelly. “I like how we have made it something easy for people to get involved with. The fact that I have been able to do it at the same time as track has made it really easy for me to do both.
“I think it speaks volumes about how William Tennent has made it easy to grow along with our community. That’s one of my favorite things to do.”
The best part of it?
“It’s so much fun, just watching these kids and working with these kids,” said Kelly. “I’m trying to get as many other people as I can to be involved. It’s just a great program.”
Along the way, Kelly has developed an appreciation for the amount of time and dedication that Creighton puts into the outreach program.
“Mr. Creighton has also been a mentor to me,” she said. “I see all the stuff that he does around the school for all the different sports programs. It’s impressive, seeing him organize all of that, and his work with all of the Unified programs is something that doesn’t get looked at enough.”
Creighton is on long list of others, with her parents and older siblings coming first, that Kelly wants to thank for this leg of her ongoing journey as a student-athlete.
“I have had so many great teachers and coaches over the years,” said Kelly. “I can’t thank them all enough for all the leadership they have given to me.”
In the end, though, she gave back just as much and won’t soon be forgotten in the hallways of William Tennent.
“Maura Kelly is the definition of a student-athlete,” said Creighton. “Maura is very assertive and willing to fight for what she believes in, a trait many do not develop until later on in life.
“I wish her nothing but success in the future. The William Tennent High School Athletic Department will miss her dearly.”
