Inglemoor grad Nichols running strong for Bentley University

Published 5:59 pm Monday, January 10, 2011

College freshmen are faced with a wealth of challenges when they pack their bags and move away from home.

In the case of Bentley University (Waltham, Mass.) student Ashley Nichols, there’s a full load of business courses and becoming familiar with a new town and friends on campus. As an athlete, the Inglemoor High graduate is not only running cross country, but indoor track for the first time, as well.

But there’s more, like when your team faces more adversity than an unpredictable cross-country course.

“I don’t think we had a typical season. A lot of the other girls were injured — our top runners — and the other two ahead of me were sick,” Nichols said while back home over the holidays. “I was thrown into it … I didn’t know everywhere I had to be — I had to figure it out.”

That she did, leading the charge for Bentley with a 13th-place finish in the NCAA Division II East Regional cross-country meet in November at Franklin Park in Boston. Bentley finished fourth out of 28 teams and missed advancing to nationals by eight points.

Nichols took 13th in the field of 187 to earn All-East honors with a time of 23 minutes, 35 seconds over the 6,000-meter (3.7-mile) course and was second among freshmen, finishing 28 seconds and five places behind Emily Regan of Stonehill College.

“It was nice to have a lot of girls who were out there running at my pace,” she said. “It was all about running my own race, take the next step and try and get more points for my team.

“Anything can happen on race day. You just expect that everybody’s gonna be running strong, and know that it’s anybody’s race.”

Nichols credits a change in training — from 30 miles a week in high school to about 50 a week nowadays — for her success on the college scene. She’s had a change in scenery while training in college, as well, swapping the trails of St. Edward State Park for the streets of Waltham. She misses the St. Ed’s trails while away from home, but returned to her old stomping grounds over the holidays when she ran again with Inglemoor assistant coach Kelly Richards and some old Viking teammates.

Her Bentley coaches Kevin Curtin and Ed Lyons gave Nichols a schedule to follow on vacation, and she also mixed in a “mid-tempo” 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) Polar Bear Plunge run at Seattle’s Magnuson Park.

“She’s a fierce competitor, she really runs hard and follows directions. It was a long season, and her last two races were great,” said Lyons, who recently retired from the Bentley head-coaching spot, but will remain there as a part-time volunteer coach. “She’s done well balancing school with athletics, and she’s adjusted pretty well with being away from home for a freshman.

“She’s a quality young lady in all aspects.”

Inglemoor’s Richards noted that the Vikings missed Nichols’ leadership, work ethic and devotion to the team this season, but they’re glad she’s doing well at Bentley.

“Ashley is the type of athlete who leaves a permanent mark on a high-school program,” Richards said. “She’s made an impression on her former teammates at Inglemoor and they strive to follow her example.

“The step up in training has suited her well,” she added. “She is proof of the many opportunities there are for female runners at the Division II and Division III levels.”

Nichols continued her running prowess on the indoor-track scene in December when she debuted at No. 6 on Bentley’s all-time list in the 5,000 meters (3.1 miles) with a time of 18:52.76 in the Jay Carisella Invitational at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. She finished 12th of 19 in the race, with only five of the 11 in front of her competing for collegiate teams.

“I’ve never done indoor track. It’s kind of a different race,” said Nichols, noting that junior teammate Evelyn Marrero has helped her along the way.

So have her coaches, Nichols said with a laugh: “It’s a learning experience. In one race, I miscounted the laps (25 for 5,000 meters) and it helped to have my coach tell me how many more to go … I definitely have a better idea about that now.”

Nichols and Bentley will next compete Jan. 23 at the Greater Boston Track Club Invitational at Harvard University.