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Alex Carlson Proud to Represent Rutgers on Biggest Stage at NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships

Published by
DyeStat.com   Mar 8th 2023, 3:57pm
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Sophomore standout one of four female athletes in the country scheduled to compete in mile and 3,000 in Albuquerque, becoming first competitor in program history to qualify in both events in same year, as she seeks first women’s indoor title in any event for Scarlet Knights

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Alex Carlson grew up attending Rutgers football games.

Roughly 30 minutes from her hometown of Annandale, N.J., the idea of one day attending Rutgers University and becoming a Scarlet Knight was always in the back of her mind.

“I’ve known I’ve always liked the school and it’s something my dad and I have always talked about,” Carlson said.

So when it came time for the local standout distance runner from North Hunterdon High in New Jersey to make a decision about where to continue her academic and running journey in college, her choice was a familiar one.

“It was more of a decision between here and Penn State, and I decided I’d rather be closer to home and I liked coach (Matt Jelley) and I thought it would be a good fit.”

In an age when the allure of big name universities can sway one’s decision, Carlson has bucked the notion that you need to go far away from home to experience success.

In just two seasons with Rutgers, the New Jersey resident has already established her name as one of the best to ever don a Scarlet Knights jersey.

With four indoor track records to her name, Carlson has quickly developed into one of the best distance runners in the country.

She enters Friday’s NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center in New Mexico as the No. 5 seed in the women’s mile (4:31.51) and No. 13 in the 3,000 meters (8:56.15).

Carlson joins Dutch athlete Amina Maatoug from Duke, New Zealand native Maia Ramsden of Harvard and Oregon State’s Kaylee Mitchell as the only athletes scheduled to compete in both the mile and 3,000 in Albuquerque.

It marks the first time in program history that a Rutgers student-athlete has qualified for the Division 1 indoor meet in both events in the same year.

“Talent in New Jersey has gone away, but for her to be doing what she’s doing, showcases what we’re trying to sell – you can stay home, represent yourself and New Jersey at Rutgers at the highest level,” Matt Jelley said.

Carlson’s rapid ascend to that next level can be described as a blur.

As Carlson puts it, her success has felt like a “really big jump.”

Carlson, who played soccer until middle school, started running in the sixth grade for the local Hunterdon Lions. She doesn’t elaborate too much on her success as a prep, but attending one of the top programs in the state in North Hunterdon, she was part of three straight Nike Cross Nationals appearances, helping her team to a 16th-place overall finish in 2018.

On the track, an injury ended Carlson’s sophomore season early and the COVID-19 pandemic canceled her junior year, allowing for just one season to enjoy to the fullest.

Despite the obstacles, the talent was there and noticed.

Carlson finished the spring runner-up in the 1,600 meters at the New Jersey Group Championships, clocking a personal-best 4:51.75. She also ran 2:12.25 in the 800 to finish third.

“We definitely wanted her to come here, and I talked a lot with Alex’s coach (Sean Walsh) and he let me know, this girl is special. What she’s running right now, I haven’t seen a talent like this,” Jelley said. “Alex came from a very good high school program and I took that to heart. We’re really happy that she came here.”

Carlson associates her success with comfort.

Along with the hometown feel, the relationships and openness she’s experienced with the Rutgers coaching staff have been key pieces for a smooth transition to the collegiate level.

Following a solid cross country campaign in 2021, her first college indoor track season featured a school record in the 3,000 (9:15.40) and nearly a 25-second PR in the mile, clocking a school-record 4:36.70 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston.

“Well, I think a big part of it is how coachable she is,” Jelley said. “She trusts everything that we’re doing and trusts that she can tell us what’s going on. We continually try not to speculate that she’s got to run this time or that. To see her adapt to the training and get better and better has been very exciting.”

During the spring outdoor season, Carlson adapted again to a competitive collegiate landscape, running a PR in the 1,500 of 4:20.75 at the Virginia Challenge and advancing to the NCAA Division 1 East Regionals.

With a full year of collegiate running experience, this winter saw Carlson – whether she’s felt the change or not – transcend into one of the best distance runners in the nation.

This indoor season, she’s set three school records in the 1,000, mile and 3,000. Her 4:31.51 mile was another big PR and a top five performance in the country. Jelley said, beside her coachability, Carlson is one of the toughest people he’s ever met.

“I mean, I think it’s something that I still don’t really wrap my head around,” Carlson said of her progress. “I guess I think about it, it is a really big jump, but it doesn’t feel like anything has changed, I still feel like the same person.”

After helping lead Rutgers to its best finish in program history with a ninth-place performance at the Big Ten Championships, highlighted by her winning the 3,000 and placing second in the mile, Carlson will toe the line this weekend at her first NCAA Championships.

Carlson said it has always been a goal of hers to qualify for nationals, despite how fast it has come to fruition.

“It’s something that still hasn’t hit me and I guess since I’ve progressed so quickly, personally I feel like I shouldn’t be at this level almost because everything has happened so quickly,” she said. “(But) I’m excited to see what I can do.”

Jelley said she has all the tools to win the mile.

The top seed is Maatoug (4:29.87) from Duke, with the No. 16 seed Margot Appleton of Virginia at 4:33.82, as less than four seconds separate a loaded and wide-open field.

“Alex has gotten really good at having good race instincts,” Jelley said. “We’ll come up with a plan for her, but it’s also important that she trusts her instincts so she’s gotten very good at developing those. But I think it is going to take a very special race and probably is going to take a PR, but it’s definitely not out of her reach, and that’s all you want when you get into a race like this; just to be in there with a chance.”

When Carlson is in Albuquerque and gets set to race, she knows she has the support of New Jersey behind her, looking to become the first female competitor from Rutgers to capture an indoor national championship in any event in school history.

“It just gives me so much pride to be able to make people proud, my state proud and the programs that I represent and I still do,” she said.



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