Millstone's Rachel Provost headed to Duke
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

Millstone's Rachel Provost, a senior at The Peddie School in Hightstown, sits between her parents, Deborah and Tim Provost, as she signs her national letter of intent to attend Duke University on April 11. Looking on from behind are her coach, Jerry Hart; her sister, Melissa, a sophomore at Peddie; and another coach, Mark Gartner.

Rachel Provost knew exactly what she was looking for when selecting a college.

"I was looking for a school that was in the top 10 both academically and athletically, and I also wanted to go to a southern school," she said.

That sounds a lot like Duke University, doesn't it?

Throw into the mix another contributing factor - Duke is the alma mater of her father, Tim - and the North Carolina school became the perfect match.

Her father is a 1977 Duke graduate and attended Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, where he was featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" for running the nation's fastest freshman mile at 4:24.

His daughter, Rachel, of Millstone, last week signed her national letter of intent to compete in cross country and track at Duke University, ending a selection process, which had the talented harrier also seriously considering Vanderbilt University.

An excellent student at The Peddie School in Hightstown, Provost is excited about the academic challenges Duke is sure to provide, not to mention the competition she'll face in the Atlantic Coast Conference, one of the top athletic conferences in the nation.

"It's pretty amazing," she said. "I don't know any of the girls I'll be running with, but there are a lot of girls from New Jersey on the team."

At Duke, Provost will be challenged from the start, joining one of the top programs in the nation.

"The coach (Kevin Jermyn) said that generally freshmen don't compete until they're both academically and athletically adjusted to the school, so it really depends on the person," Provost said. "I want to run the longer events, like the 5,000 and 10,000."

At Peddie, Provost has done it all. Individually, she holds both the indoor and outdoor records in the 800-, 1,500-, 1,600-, 3,000- and 3,200 meters. She also holds school marks in the mile and two-mile runs.

Among the personal accolades she's accumulated are a Mid-Atlantic Prep League XC title, the indoor and outdoor private school titles in the one-mile and two-mile and 800, and private school XC titles.

At the recent Prep Relays, held in Lawrenceville on April 6, she teamed with her sister, Melissa, as well as Natasha Kardassis and Sarah Guilbert to win the distance medley, while also teaming with Guilbert, Tina Sowah and her sister to win the 3,200-meter relay.

Through her résumé is already impressive, Provost admits that she's not completely satisfied.

"I wanted to run faster times than I have, but I'm happy," she said. "I still want to win the private school state championships and the prep school championships in both the 1,600 and 3,200."

Provost credits her coach, as well as her father, for her success at Peddie.

"At Peddie we have advisers, and my adviser is also my coach, Jay Hart," she said. "He's been a great coach. He is a Peddie alumnus who ran XC and track at the University of Virginia. I looked at that school too, but it was too big. It was a little scary.

"And my dad coaches me in the off-season, which certainly helps."

Fresh off a 15th-place finish in the two-mile run (11:07.75) at Nike Indoor Nationals in Landover, Md., Provost recently received an invitation to run in the Girls High School 3,000 meters at the prestigious Penn Relays scheduled for Thursday, April 28, at 6:40 p.m. She becomes the first female athlete at Peddie to be invited to compete in an individual event at the Penn Relays.

"My goal is to set a personal best time," Provost said. "I'm looking forward to get dragged along to a good time."

Among the competitors she'll be running against are Colts Neck's Ashley Higginson, who won the event last year and recently shattered the state mark in the 5,000 at Princeton University.

Regardless of what she does from here on out, Provost has left her mark at The Peddie School.

Starting this fall, she'll look to do the same thing in Durham, N.C.