Wood's McDonald, Newman to run at Division I colleges

WINCHESTER — As James Wood cross country coach Matthew Lofton stood in front of a few dozen people in the high school auditorium on Wednesday, he recalled saying, “five signings next year” at the signing ceremony of one of the Colonels’ cross country and track runners last year.

“I said it as a joke, but I was kind of serious,” Lofton said. “And it happened.”

Seniors Liam McDonald (Radford University) and Izzy Newman (Duquesne University in Pittsburgh) each signed to run at the NCAA Division I level on Wednesday, closing out a three-month run that has seen the five productive and close-knit senior leaders of the James Wood cross country programs commit to running at the college level.

Nathaniel Woshner (Duquesne), Lauren Beatty (Converse) and Elena Farinholt (George Mason) all previously signed and were among the numerous teammates in attendance Wednesday.

McDonald and Newman were joined at the signing table by a cross country teammate who will run track in college next year. Sprinter Alana Bradford will compete for NCAA Division III Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio.

The aforementioned five runners have made it clear in several interviews this year just how important they are to each other, and that theme continued on Wednesday during a ceremony in which they also expressed appreciation for their families and coaches.

“I’m so grateful,” said McDonald when asked later what it means to be competing at the college level. “I have to thank all of my teammates, especially the five seniors who have already signed, because they mean so much to me.”

A three-time All-Class 4 Northwestern District cross country runner, McDonald placed fifth in this year’s meet to help the Colonels to their fourth straight district team championship. McDonald also earned All-Region honors this year by placing ninth in the region meet. He had a season-best time of 16 minutes, 9.4 seconds over 3.1 miles.

Radford University does not have a men’s track & field program, but McDonald said the Highlanders of the Big South Conference do give their runners opportunities to run in meets as unattached participants.

McDonald ran on James Wood’s All-State 4x800 team in the spring and ranked third in the area in the open 800 (2:04.14). On Monday, McDonald captured the district indoor title in the 1,000 at Shenandoah University in a time of 2:42.28 (three seconds off his top time for the year) and has already qualified for the Class 4 state meet in that event. McDonald also helped the 4x800 team to the district championship.

McDonald said he will receive academic and athletic scholarships that will cover most of his expenses to attend Radford, which placed sixth out of 12 teams at this year’s Big South meet.

McDonald said he made a trip to Radford a few months ago, and he enjoyed his interactions with the coaches and runners immensely. The Highlanders are led by fourth-year head coach Sam Bradley.

“I really like the campus,” said McDonald, who let Radford know of his decision to come to the school in early January. “It’s medium-sized, and I can just walk everywhere. I really like the aesthetic of the town. The facilities are really nice. I just love everything about it.”

McDonald said he was also shown where he will spend much of his time academically as a biology major. McDonald plans on being a physical therapist, and a biology professor on his trip explained how much Radford’s program could help him with that goal.

Newman is a two-time All-District runner. Newman accomplished that feat in the spring despite foot pain that turned out to be a stress fracture. As a senior, Newman placed sixth at the district cross country meet to help James Wood win its first district title since 2002. She had her best time of the year at the Region 4C meet (19:39), where she finished 15th overall and one spot out of earning an individual state meet berth.

In track, Newman placed third in the 3,200 at Monday’s district meet in 12:12.23 (nine seconds off her top time for the year) and helped the Colonels win the 4x800 title.

Newman is receiving a significant academic scholarship to attend Duquesne, which competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Dukes placed seventh at the A-10 cross country meet in the fall but won the conference title in the delayed season that took place in the spring. Duquesne placed eighth in the conference track meet in the spring.

Newman mentioned during the ceremony that she’s looking forward to remaining teammates with Woshner, who signed with the Dukes in November. Newman said she and Woshner first learned during the summer that they were both looking at Duquesne.

Newman said when researching colleges, she wanted to attend a small Division I school that was close to home and near a big city. George Mason University in Fairfax and Robert Morris University outside of Pittsburgh were two other schools she considered heavily before committing to Duquesne on Jan. 29.

Newman toured Duquesne on Nov. 6.

“I just felt like I was meant to be there,” Newman said. “I’m really excited to be in Pittsburgh.”

Newman said she wanted to join a program that will challenge her. She feels a cross country program led by first-year head coach Jeff Gibson and Jim Lear, a former Duquesne head coach who has more than 25 years of coaching experience with the program, will do that.

“I’m not going to go there and be No. 1, but I’m definitely going to be pushed, and I’m going to take my running to the next level,” said Newman, who is looking at events like the two-mile, 5K and 10K in track.

Newman is excited about Duquesne’s nursing program, which will allow her to get experience with patient care as a freshman.

“They have a different nursing program than a lot of other schools in that you get into it right away,” Newman said. “You get to be in the hospitals, and they have a lot of outreaches. I love the academics just as much as the athletics.”

Newman said it definitely means a great deal to be running at the college level, and to share the experience with the runners who have meant so much to her.

“I’m on dream land,” said Newman about running at the college level. “This is totally amazing. I’m just really excited to see where it can take me.

“The ‘Senior 5’ are at the center of my heart. It’s been really amazing to be able to interact with them. We have such a great bond.”

During the ceremony. Lofton said the duo did outstanding work to put themselves in position to run in college, and the determination they possess should serve them well going forward.

“[McDonald] worked his butt off,” Lofton said. “He pushes himself past the point where normal people would stop. Izzy, I just felt like she’s had setback after setback. Last year, when she broke her foot, we had the saying, ‘The comeback is greater than the setback.’ I think her psyche right now is one of the biggest examples of the comeback is greater than the setback.”

Bradford will compete for a Franciscan program that competes in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. The Barons placed last out of nine teams at last year’s PAC meet.

Bradford placed fifth in the 55-meter dash on Monday at the district meet to qualify for the Region 4C meet, which will take place next Monday at the Wilkins Center. Bradford recorded a time of 7.86 seconds, which ranks third on the school’s all-time list for the event. Bradford also ran on the second-place 4x200 team at the meet.

Bradford ran on the James Wood 4x100 team that ranked second in the area and placed fourth in the district during the outdoor season last year. She ranked sixth among local runners with a 14.01 in the 100 at the district meet.

Bradford will study nursing.

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