Spotlight: James Riley and the Freshman Experience

On Sep. 2, James Riley led the Worcester State Men's Cross-Country team with a 5K time of 18:13. Two weeks later on Sep. 17, Riley once again finished first amongst his teammates at the UMass-Dartmouth invitational. Just last Friday, again, Riley went out and put up a personal best 8K time of 28:09. And this week marks one month that James Riley has been a student-athlete at the collegiate level.

A freshman out of Shrewsbury High School just a town over, James Riley is off to an incredible start. His strong performances indicate he is happy to be here at Worcester State, as it provides him a close connection to his family, whom he knows are his biggest supporters. It comes as no surprise that his family brings him comfort and support, as both his father and older brother are runners. "Running is always part of my family," says Riley. "My family are the people that get me through my races, my practices, a tough week at practice."

His new teammates are also giving Riley confidence, as he considers the upperclassmen on the team many of his closest friends. They are there to reassure him to stick to the plan that the coaches lay out. For Riley, their reassurance provides crucial importance as "sometimes there's just that struggle where you hear what the coach is saying, but you might not trust it all the way. But then to hear it from your upperclassmen teammates that it really does work is really helpful."

In turn, it helps that Riley is getting along well with Coach Ronan and is buying into his system. "He's huge on physical and mental health. He provides a really strong base environment for all the runners." The great environment provided by the coach, combined with the support from teammates and family has brought about the perfect storm for Riley to break out into the fantastic freshman fall he is in the midst of now.

This is not high school any more. Riley used that experience to find his love for long distance running and is using it to dive head first into collegiate competition. "The longer the race gets, the more I enjoy it," concludes Riley. "I think now that I'm here it's my time to indulge in that. I'm just getting into it, getting eager."

That eagerness had proven fruitful as the freshman has been the standout for the team through the first month of competition. As October races continue this Saturday in Wakefield, Mass., James Riley will look to continue his hot streak as MASCACs loom closer and closer.

by Chris Wright