by Mike Schnitzel
Competing in the National Scholastic Track and Field Championships at the Armory in New York City on Mar. 12, Rush ran a personal best time of 4:54.9 in the one-mile run, good enough for a sixth-place finish. At the end of the race came the moment of realization Rush had been waiting for.
"It was overwhelming," said Rush. "The race went so fast, and the two leaders of the race were running so quickly that I was just trying to keep up. At the end of the race when I looked and saw my name in sixth [place] I was so happy."
A sixth-place finish meant that Rush had made the All-American squad. The top six finishers at two national meets, one which took place in Maryland, and the Armory meet, which Rush attended, would become All-Americans.
"It was fantastic," said Mike Frazer, who has coached Rush at North for the past three years. "She pushed the race for about two or three laps and held on. [North's track team] is very excited for her, and she's going to lead us into another great spring."
Prior to her successful run on Mar. 12, Rush ran a personal best of 4:39.3 in the 1500 meter indoor run at the New York State Indoor Track and Field Championships at Cornell University on Mar. 4 - good enough for a silver medal.
Rush had to overcome adversity before attaining her customary success, having sustained a foot injury toward the beginning of the winter track season that kept her out of action for six weeks. During those six weeks, Rush was the epitome of what Frazer said has helped her achieve her goals - a passionate and hard-working runner.
"Most kids would have sat around in front of the TV at home," said Frazer, "but not Theresa. She was working out in the pool at Echo Park in Hempstead and training on a stationery bike to keep up her cardiovascular conditioning."
Asked to summarize Rush's strengths as a runner and competitor, Frazer said, "She's got heart and she's got smarts. She runs a very controlled race, runs within herself, and gives it everything she has in the last lap."
Looking toward a bright future, Rush will be competing at Villanova as a college freshman next fall, where she hopes a tradition of producing strong runners may one day present her with an Olympic opportunity. She will attend Villanova on a four-year track scholarship.
"I want to try for [the Olympics]," said Rush. "It's a hard goal, but I feel with hard work anything can be done."
Rush said she would also like to replicate her All-American high school triumph at the college level, work on improving her times, and help Villanova continue it's strong running tradition. With Rush's strong work ethic, Beijing or London may not be as far away as they seem.
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