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West Chester Rustin senior Maddie Miller, the Daily Local News 2023 Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year, is a star runner for all seasons. Selected as the DLN 2022 Girls Track Athlete of the Year as a sophomore, Miller is a two-time All-American, has won six PIAA medals (10 if you include the indoor track season) and holds six school running records.
This fall, Miller won the Ches-Mont Girls Cross Country Championships, finishing more than 10 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, then placed 16th at the PIAA 3A Cross Country Championships to win her first-ever cross country state medal.
“Although I was happy with my performance at Ches-Monts, I was most proud of my performance at States,” said Miller. “The States course is very hilly, which makes it more challenging. Medaling at States had also been one of my main goals this entire season. I had gotten multiple medals throughout the years at indoor and outdoor track states, but never in cross country, so I was very excited to have accomplished my goal.”
Earlier in the season, Miller won the Ches-Mont Championships with a time of 18:50.1, after finishing fourth as a junior.
“I think the key at Ches-Monts was figuring out pacing,” said Miller. “The last race I ran before Ches-Monts, at Carlisle, I went out a little too fast and I kind of paid for it later in the race (smiles). This time I wanted to go out more conservative, and get more of a pace that I could hold, then make a big push in the last 100 yards.”
Rustin coach Andrew White said, “Maddie has been one of the most consistent runners I’ve ever coached. For the last three years, she’s never injured, never missing practice. She’s focused on everything she does, and she does all the little things right to stay healthy. This consistency has helped her improve each year.”
When asked what her favorite memory of the post-season was, Miller replied, “Experiencing those meets with my teammates. One of my teammates, Sophia Hnetinka, also made it to states this year, and over the past track and cross country seasons we have become close friends because we run a lot of the same events and workouts together, so it was fun to be there with each other.”
White said, “Maddie’s a great teammate — she is quiet and not one to get overly loud or vocal, but she is always supportive and has brought along some of the younger girls on the team really well. She’ll cheer on teammates in JV races and give encouragement when she can.”
Coming into the season this fall, Miller had enjoyed a standout track season last spring, earning a state medal in the 800 meter run (seventh place, 2:10.98) and helping Rustin’s 4×400 relay finished fourth at Shippensburg. And at districts, she was a key part of the 4×400 relay team that clinched the team title for Rustin.
Rustin coach Jim Collins said, “What stands out most about Maddie is that she is a fierce competitor. I believe she probably actually hates losing more than she enjoys winning, which is funny, because her natural demeanor is the exact opposite. She is one of those kids that is always quiet and smiling and is just happy to be doing what she is doing, but when you put her in a race, something switches.”
“My favorite part of the 2023 track postseason was probably winning the 4×400 at districts,” said Miller. “Coming from playing sports like basketball and field hockey, I’ve always enjoyed participating in the relays during track. I just love the team aspect of them.
“At districts, I remember we were all tired by the time of the 4×400 because we had all run multiple events that weekend, but we were also only a couple points away from the team title so we were very motivated to win the 4×400. We had been working on our 4×400 relay all season, so it was very exciting when Ava crossed the finish line in first place and realizing that we had won Districts.”
Miller also enjoyed the PIAA championships at Shippensburg University at the end of May, winning two state medals.
“Outdoor states is one of my favorite meets every year because of the atmosphere,” said Miller. “There is always a huge crowd and all the teams stay in the dorms at Shippensburg, so it makes the whole meet more exciting.”
This fall, White was impressed with Miller’s work ethic – on and off the course – and Maddie’s increasing confidence in her ability.
“Despite her success on the track in the 400 and 800, she’s struggled a little with her confidence in cross country, but this year she did a lot of work to believe in her ability,” said White. “A lot of this came from spending time race planning and strategizing a bit more. Maddie wanted to gain more experience winning races from the front, as well as finishing hard in tactical races. Jessie Cox from Oxford gave her a run for her money at Ches-Monts, and it was great to see Maddie control the pace there and win despite that pressure.
“Last year, Maddie lost to (another runner) in a sit and kick at the Henderson Invite, and that stung a bit. She was determined to not let that happen this year and ran great and took the win there too. At states, Maddie was focused on putting herself in it, and she moved up intelligently throughout the race, especially through the middle mile. Last year (at states) it intimidated her a bit, but this year she prepared for it mentally in the week leading up to the state meet, and it showed. She was confident and aggressive.”
Miller said, “What has really helped me this season is talking through my race plans with coach White. He lets me come up with my own ideas on how I want to approach races, but then he will also add in his own suggestions. This has helped me go into races confidently because I know I have a plan set in place.
“And although coach (David) Smith no longer coaches our (cross country) team, he is actually my astronomy teacher, so I enjoy talking to him about races and training in class. He is very knowledgeable in the science behind running, so it is always helpful to hear his perspective.”
Since Miller was used to competing in the 400 and 800 meter runs in spring track, she tried to increase her mileage when preparing for the cross country season.
“Our boys and girls cross country team do all of our workouts together, so it’s nice to always have somebody to run with,” said Miller. “By the end of the season, I think our workout group worked really well together. It was much easier to push myself when I was running with them. I also started doing strength training at Powertrain in West Chester twice a week to prevent injury and become more efficient in my running.”
Miller is an all-around athlete who had previously played field hockey and basketball, before giving track a shot as a freshman and cross country the following year.
“I had some success in track as a freshman, so my coaches and parents convinced me to do cross country my sophomore year. Prior to running, I played field hockey in the fall. I think I decided to switch to cross country because of how much fun I had with the team during the track season. Running every day to most people doesn’t sound like fun, but it’s very rewarding, especially when you get to train with your friends every day.”
Off the running track at Rustin, Miller is involved in Student Council, is a member of her Class Cabinet, and belongs to the National Honors Society. Her favorite subjects at Rustin are math and science. Next fall, she will continue her running career at Penn State University.
“As of right now, I’m going into Penn State undecided on a major, but I’m interested in earth and environmental science,” said Miller.
White said, “I know that her initial success and love of the sport came on the track, but she’s capable of so much in cross country and I’m excited to see her continue to grow at Penn State.”
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