Rachel McArthur Ready To Take Her Running To Next Level At Villanova!


Patriot senior Rachel McArthur, one of the top girls middle distance recruits in the country with PR's of 2:06 in the 800 and 4:45 in the mile, verbally committed on Wednesday to Villanova University and will run for the storied program coached by Gina Procaccio.


McArthur on her top reason picking Villanova: "I want to be the best runner I can be and I knew Villanova would make me into that."

After taking official visits to Villanova, UNC, Cal-Berkeley and Syracuse, McArthur opted to get her college decision out of the way early, so she can turn her focus on championship meets ahead of her final high school cross country season. "I loved the traveling part of it (recruiting process), but that was also my least favorite part. Just because of how exhausting it was after a while. Especially trying to balance high school as well."

With her unique range of being able to run a 54 second split on a 4x400 meter relay leg as well as run longer distances as a Virginia state champion at 3200 meters (10:19 PR) and cross country (17:16 5K PR), McArthur was considered to be one of the top class of 2017 recruits sought after in the state and nationally.

At Villanova, McArthur will run for a program and coaches that have a great history of producing outstanding distance and middle distance runners, relay glory at Penn Relays, NCAA champions, All-Americans, and developing their athletes to the pro ranks. Her respect for Coach Procaccio stood out. "I knew she meant business and saw my potential. I wanted a coach who sees how far I can go and knows how to get me there."


McArthur has qualified twice for the Nike Cross Nationals and won Virginia 6A state outdoor titles the past two outdoor track seasons for 3200 meters (2015) and 800 meters (2016). Both outdoor titles came in close photo finishes against her great rival Kate Murphy of Lake Braddock, who committed last week to the University of Oregon. The four year high school rivalry certainly has pushed both Northern Virginia runners to earn scholarships from major Division 1 powerhouse programs.

Another signature win for McArthur was winning the Golden South Classic mile (4:48) in 2015 as a sophomore with a 62 second last lap to earn a spot in the adidas Dream Mile. One of her first moments making a name for herself nationally was winning the 2014 Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Regional in a 17:16 5K PR.

She finished third in this past June's Brooks PR Invitational mile with a 4:45 PR and also took third in the USATF Junior Nationals 1500 meter run finals behind only Alexa Efraimson and Christina Aragon. Just turning 17 this past August, McArthur will have opportunity to race for a World Junior team spot two summers from now after her freshmen year at Villanova.


After anchoring the Patriot girls to a Championship of America DMR victory in the 2015 Penn Relays and finishing a close second to 2-time World junior & youth 800 meter champ Sammy Watson in the mile at 2016 Penn Relays, expect to see the name Rachel McArthur for many more years to come at Franklin Field every April but now in a Villanova Wildcats uniform.

Is McArthur looking forward to being part of Villanova's rich tradition at the Penn Relays? "Oh definitely! Looking forward to bringing some wheels home!"

Rachel McArthur's High School Stats