Leader of the Pack
February 06, 2009 11:32 AM | General
February 6, 2009
 |
||
| April Rotilio |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Junior sprinter April Rotilio has been nothing short of sensational since setting foot in Morgantown two years ago.
The standout has been one of the many bright spots for a budding track and field program led by second-year Coach Sean Cleary, who has been involved with the Mountaineer track and field program for 17 seasons. Rotilio, a Bellaire, Ohio, resident, competes in several different events that continually test her strength and stamina, and yet she routinely emerges at the front of the pack.
Rotilio competes in the 60- and 200-meter dashes, as well as the 300- and 400-meter events. She has ran on the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams, and also runs a leg on West Virginia’s nationally ranked distance medley relay.
Already this season, the sprinter has achieved several feats. She recently broke a school record in the 400 meters at the Penn State National Invitational, sprinting across the finish line with a time of 54.64. At the State Farm Games, she rose above the rest in the 60-meter dash and finished with a personal-best and ECAC qualifying time of 7.64.
The Big East Academic All-Star managed to win the 300-meter event in 38.09 at the WVU Invitational, and teamed with Jordann Mitchell, Katelyn Williams and Chelsea Carrier to garner first place in the 4x400 event at the WVU Holiday Classic.
Failing to fall short of any expectations that are put on her, Rotilio enjoys the variety of competing in several different events. When asked which event she excels at the most, she has a clear-cut favorite despite performing well in nearly all of them so far.
“I do run a lot of individual events and relays, but I think that my main event is the 400 meters,” the exercise physiology major said. “I think I have the strength and endurance for the second part of the 400 meter unlike some other athletes. That’s why I do run the DMR in the 400 meter as well, because that is my main event.”
Rotilio’s 400-meter leg in last season’s distance medley relay event at the Big East Indoor Championships proved vital to the squad. Joined by the tremendous trio of Keri Bland, Carly Hamric and Marie-Louise Asselin, the lightning-fast quartet set a Big East indoor record by finishing in 11:16.98.
Eventually, the same group of runners ended last year’s indoor season by earning All-American status with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. The milestone is one of Rotilio’s greatest moments with the Old Gold and Blue.
“It would be a toss-up between my PR in the 400-meter outdoor season last year at ECACs and Nationals,” Rotilio said when recalling her greatest moment so far. “I would say the All-American achievement was my best feat because that’s something that wasn’t a goal of mine and I didn’t think I could be that good. When I came to the University I didn’t say things like, ‘Ok, I’m here to be an All-American.’ It’s just something that kind of progressed and just happened, and I think that was the biggest shock and the biggest thrill because I knew I could lower my time.”
Prior to choosing WVU, Rotilio made a name for herself at St. John Central High, which is located across the Ohio River from Wheeling, W.Va. She was named the Eastern Ohio Athlete of the Year in 2004, 2005 and 2006, propelling many schools to show great interest in her.
However, Rotilio knew all along where she wanted to be. Living in Belmont County, which is basically a part of the West Virginia area, coming to Morgantown and living nearby her family and friends was not a difficult choice despite the offers from Akron, Youngstown State, Dayton and far-away Kentucky and Texas.
“It was an easy choice to come here,” Rotilio admitted. “I had a lot of different offers from different schools but my main thing was I wanted to stay close to home. I set a limit for myself and didn’t want to go past four hours. But it was easy to choose WVU because it is so close to home and it is also such a large university. I knew the campus and had been here before. It was the aspect of being home for me, and when I came down for a visit the track girls interacted very well with me.”
Fulfilling her athletic goals is not the only reason she is on campus. Rotilio is just as dedicated away from the track, as evident by her presence on the Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll. The lofty status that she has attained on the track pales in comparison to the life she wants to have after graduation.
 |
||
| April Rotilio was a member of the distance medley relay team that finished fourth at nationals last winter.
All-Pro Photgraphy/Dale Sparks |
“I definitely have my life planned out for me,” Rotilio said. “After exercise physiology, I plan to go to physical therapy school. I’m either going to go here or back near home at Wheeling Jesuit. I’d like to go to PT school for another two or three years. I want to do physical therapy with injured athletes, if I could.”
Her beginning to what has been a rewarding career began when she was in eighth grade. Always playing different sports throughout her youth, she decided to give track and field a shot to experience something new and develop some camaraderie amongst others.
But what started as a social experiment has turned into a life-long keepsake that she will always treasure.
“Back in eighth grade, (running) was social back then. One of my friends said, ‘Oh let’s just go out for the track team,’ and I said, ‘Okay,’” Rotilio said. “I went out for it and realized it was something I wanted to do in eighth grade and then I went through high school with it. It was instant success in eighth grade and I won my first race.
“Once I started having success it became easy to me, it was something that I did and loved. I did play basketball and volleyball, but I wasn’t successful because it was just something that I did because I wanted to do it. Once I experienced success with track, it was something I wanted to do.”
The friendly-but-competitive track star certainly made the right choice to stick with her destined sport. With plenty of events left in the indoor and outdoor season, Rotilio looks to boost her individual status while aiding the Mountaineers in several events as well.
Before every event, Rotilio admits that she is a stickler to her pre-meet routine. She enjoys listening to rap music before every race to raise her adrenalin, and relies on precise timing for each thing she does before entering the starting line.
“I make sure I wear the same clothes, I have my iPod in when I’m running and warming up,” Rotilio admitted. “I warm up the exact same way. I run for the same amount of time, I stretch and do drills with the trainer and then 10-15 minutes before the race I have my spikes on doing strides where the starting line is just hanging out and staying loose. I like to have a routine and keep things the same. I try to start at the exact same time before a race and allow myself to warm up about an hour and 50 minutes before each race.”
And while her routine is precise prior to each race, the end result is always the most impressive. Ready to take on all challengers, there is no debating that Rotilio is one of several athletes who give the WVU Track and Field program its nationally-acclaimed status.
