On Thursday evening, Orono High School star distance runner Ruth White announced her college commitment.
The two-time defending New England cross-country champion has chosen Boise State University in Idaho to continue her academic and athletic pursuits next fall. Division 1 Boise State competes in the Mountain West Conference. The Broncos finished ninth at the NCAA D1 cross-country national meet back in 2020 (held in March of 2021) and have failed to qualify for the national meet over the last two years so bringing in someone of Ruth's caliber is a big boost.
"The coaches are really supportive and kind, the athletes are nice and highly motivated, and I also love the location of Boise State." helped White make her decision easier.
Earlier this fall Ruth set a new meet record at the Manchester Invitational at Derryfield Park in New Hampshire as she clocked the second fastest time ever recorded on the storied course with her 17:20.7 effort. The following week she smashed her own meet and course records at the Maine XC Festival of Champions at the Troy Howard Middle School clocking 16:56.92 for the 5k course. The time was the first in state history that a school girl had run under 17 minutes for the 5k distance in cross-country.
White has dominated the cross-country trails in her three years of competing, she lost her freshman campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She has never lost a cross-country race in Maine throughout her storied career. The senior will be the favorite to capture her third consecutive Class C state title in two weeks and the favorite to win her third consecutive New England title in a month. Ruth qualified for the Champs National XC meet last fall finishing 17th although she's undecided on her postseason plans at this time.
