New Milford track and cross country standout Madelaine Sweeney commits to UConn
NEW MILFORD, Conn. 鈥� Green Wave cross country and track star Madelaine Sweeney has officially committed to the University of Connecticut following four years of running for New Milford.
Sweeney capped off an incredibly successful 2021 cross country season, in which she helped lead the school to its first Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class L title since 1997, by committing to UConn to run at the Division I level down the road from her hometown.
鈥淎t the end, it was between UConn and BU,鈥� Sweeney said. 鈥淚 really had to think about it a lot and it was a hard decision, but I鈥檓 really happy with my decision and I really feel home at UConn.鈥�
Since her start of high school, Sweeney has had the opportunity to learn from some incredible coaches with Giles Vaughan leading the girls cross country team and Michael Nahom coaching her on the track.
鈥淪o I have Coach Vaughan as my cross country coach and coach Mike as my track coach,鈥� Sweeney said. 鈥淏oth of them have had such an important role in getting me here because their training is really different, but it compliments each other, and I think it鈥檚 really important to have two different aspects of training spread throughout the year because then you鈥檙e not constantly working on one thing. It really helps you become a more balanced and well-rounded runner.鈥�
Sweeney admitted that after a difficult first year of running at New Milford she was ready to give up. But her coaches, specifically Coach Vaughan pushed her to keep trying.
鈥淎lso, after my freshman year I had a really bad season during cross country and track, and I thought I was going to go back to soccer. Coach Vaughan was the one who convinced me to come back to cross country and give it one more shot. So, if it wasn鈥檛 for Coach Vaughan, I don’t know if I would鈥檝e come back to running or not.鈥�
Sweeney set her goals high early on, eyeing the chance to run at a Division I school. However, she had to work extremely hard to get her times to where they are today.
鈥淚 wanted to work really hard to get myself as close to running in college as possible, but I ended up completely exceeding my expectations of what I could do,鈥� Sweeney said. 鈥淚 kind of realized I could do it last February. Indoor season was canceled, and I went to Virginia to run a few unattached meets to see where I was and I ended up running 11:18 for a two-mile which was much faster than I thought I would. It was an amazing feeling.鈥�
Sweeney has a love for the sport that鈥檚 unmatched by most and that鈥檚 going to follow her when she runs for UConn.
鈥淗onestly, there are so many things I love about it,鈥� Sweeney began. 鈥淚 love just getting to run with my friends every day. Like even if it weren鈥檛 for the end result, I would still want to run with these people every day because it鈥檚 so much fun and it鈥檚 the best part of my day. At the same time, sometimes when you鈥檙e on a run in a race you get into this really good flow and it鈥檚 such a good feeling.鈥�
As one of the top runners in Connecticut, Sweeney showed up when New Milford needed her most, coming in seventh at the CIAC Cross Country State Open and placing third to bring home the state title. Expect for her to do big things the next four years at the University of Connecticut.
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