Good things come in threes: UPEI cross country recruits a trio of star runners from Colonel Gray
When Mike Peterson agreed to return as UPEI’s cross country head coach in the summer of 2019, his first order of business was to retain Prince Edward Island’s best talent. He has done just that, recruiting a trio of strong runners from Charlottetown’s Colonel Gray High School: twin sisters Katie and Grace Richard, and Maya Abou ElNaja
“As a small school, it’s crucial for us to keep every good runner here that we can,” said Peterson, who has watched quality Island prospects head to schools on the mainland. “The AUS has been dominated for a long time by St. FX, Dalhousie, and recently UNB, so it’s going to take some time to get on the radar, but these three runners will help us get there.”
Katie and Grace Richard were consistently at or near the top in each race in the last several seasons for Colonel Gray, leading their school to three provincial championships.
“Having a twin sister who also runs allows me to have a built-in training partner,” said Grace. “Because we are both competitive and want to beat one another, it motivates us to keep training and working hard.”
“I’ve been training with Coach Peterson and the team for several years, and it just seemed like a natural fit,” said Katie. “UPEI has a great running program, and I’m really excited to officially join the team.”
Although a bit of a late bloomer, Abou ElNaja was also a key contributor to Colonel Gray’s dominance in both cross country and track and field. In her first year, she admittedly struggled to get through a 5K race. In the following years, she steadily improved, placing third in the 2020 provincial high school cross country championships, just behind the Richard sisters.
“I don’t give up,” Abou ElNaja said. “In order to get better, I knew I needed to run more and train harder. I was fully invested and committed to doing that, and so I did.”
“The addition of these three runners will be a huge step for our program,” said Peterson, ”not only because they are all very strong athletes, but because they will help our current athletes, who have all taken huge steps forward, continue to improve.”
Go Panthers Go!
