by Adam Colbert
Senior Nicole Mooar has decided to attend Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, to pursue her track career. She signed her letter of intent on February 2.
Merrimack wasn’t her only choice. Regis, Westfield and Umass Amherst were also top choices.
Mooar decided to go with Merrimack because of the beautiful campus, the division two track program and the challenging but lenient coach. She chose division two because it is competitive, “but not too competitive.”
When Mooar was a sophomore, she decided she wanted to run track. “[Coach] Spencer [Fortwengler] told me I had potential, so I kept working hard in practice. Junior year came around, and my times were good enough for colleges.”
She broke five school records throughout her career here and currently holds four of them including 55m hurdles, 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles and 4×4. “It’s not too often you see an athlete of any gender break multiple records in their career [and] to be as diverse as she has been makes it even more incredible,” says Fortwengler.
Mooar is one of the best athletes in the state and one of the best all-time at Hudson High when it comes to hurdling. She is the league and district hurdle champion in Division I. She went undefeated in all her events this year.
Mooar’s goal going into college is to break a Merrimack school record. “I’m really excited to see myself improve. I know I have potential, so I want to see what I can accomplish.”
“Nicole’s track future is unlimited. With Merrimack’s strong program, I foresee her as an all American and breaking their school records,” says Fortwengler.
She is also excited to explore more areas of track. Now that she can be in more than two running events and two field events(high school rule), she plans on being pushed into more events because of her talent.
Since eighth grade, Mooar has been running track in the winter and spring seasons. “I didn’t expect to have this much potential going from eighth grade. I just thought to run, but thanks to Spencer I learned a lot and learned to push myself.”
“I have instilled in my teams that nothing will be given to any of them. They must work very hard for everything. You want to be the best. You must train harder and longer than the others. You want to win, then you will have to sacrifice some things. Once she understood my philosophy and really understood I did know what I was talking about, her results were extraordinary,” says Fortwengler.
Mooar works hard during practice and at home too. Outside of practice Mooar is always running on the track or going to the gym to work out. “She is never satisfied with a subpar performance, whether it be in practice or a meet. She strives to be the best and it shows daily,” says Fortwengler. “She is not a 4 time League All Star for nothing.”
