“I’m a running nerd,” says Alexia Mitchko, a recent Bridgewater-Raritan graduate who will be studying nursing this fall at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pa. “My dad was a runner, and I've been running most of my life.”
Mitchko, who earned a varsity letter her freshman year, ran track as a freshman and started cross country as a sophomore, advancing to become captain.
She credits Adam Pyle, head coach at Bridgewater-Raritan High School Girls Cross Country and Track and Field teams, for improving her racing skills and technique. “He stepped up when our coach, Richard Marton, passed away,” she says. “He helped me with the mental aspects of running.”
She is proud of her achievements—National Honor Society, French Honor Society, president of the Christian Club and student leader in the Christian ministry Young Life—and tells underclassmen to make the most of their high school years. “It goes by faster than you think,” she says. “Try out for the team. Do not be afraid to make mistakes. Embrace the moment.”
