Former Saratoga Springs star and Oregon All-American recognized in same class with Bowes and Bloom ahead of Manhattan Invitational after achieving sub-14 breakthrough, plus Eastern States and Foot Locker Northeast titles, along with 2006 USA Junior crown at prestigious venue in The Bronx

By Mary Albl of DyeStat and Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Kerri Gallagher knew the celebration wouldn’t be complete without Nicole Freitag.

With Van Cortlandt Park enjoying 110 years of cross country competition and highlighting the 50th edition of the Manhattan College Cross Country Invitational Presented by HOKA with Saturday’s showcase of the nation’s largest one-day high school cross country meet in New York, Gallagher made sure that one of the most decorated female athletes ever to compete at the prestigious venue in The Bronx would be recognized with the return of the Van Cortlandt Park Cross Country Hall of Fame.

“Kerri Gallagher sent me a text, and you know how small the running world is, and I knew who she was, and she sent me this very nice complimentary text and shared the news with me, making sure it’s something that I’d be interested in accepting,” Freitag said. “But I know Kerri, and I’m kind of like, I felt funny with her complimenting me so much because she’s so incredible with an incredible running resume. But what an honor, I haven’t seen Van Cortlandt Park, that name, in so long, and it just totally resonates with me.”

It seems only fitting that Gallagher, the director of cross country and track and field at Manhattan, along with the event director for Saturday’s meet, would be the catalyst to ensure Freitag – formerly Nicole Blood during her high school years at Saratoga Springs and collegiate career at Oregon – would be the first female inductee into the Van Cortlandt Park Cross Country Hall of Fame, joining esteemed journalist Marc Bloom, along with Ed Bowes, who founded the meet in 1973 and served as director for 44 years.

“Van Cortlandt, one of the best known and renowned cross country courses in the nation, holds a special place in American distance running,” Gallagher said. “On behalf of Manhattan College and our friends at the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, we are delighted to honor Ed Bowes, Nicole Freitag and Marc Bloom, three individuals who have contributed so much both to the sport as well as Van Cortlandt.”

It is also significant that Bowes, a coach at Bishop Loughlin High in Brooklyn who created the first Girls Eastern States Championships race in 1976, would be inducted in the same class as Freitag, the only prep female athlete to win the competition three years in a row from 2002-04.

“Van Cortlandt Park was always my favorite race course, if there was any course that had a Hall of Fame that I could be a part of, that would be the one,” Freitag said. “To be the first female, hopefully I’m one of many more to come because there've been so many incredible high school and college women who have crushed it on that course.”

Freitag, currently living in Oregon and working as a Retail Marketing Producer for On Athletics following a successful coaching stint with Vin Lananna as part of the University of Virginia staff, is leaving the Chicago Marathon Expo this week to travel to New York to meet up with her mom, Jill, to attend the event.

“I think she loves Van Cortlandt more than I do,” Freitag said. “She’s probably run it more than I have.”

Freitag, a nine-time All-American at Oregon, enjoyed many memorable moments at Van Cortlandt Park during her prep career, matching another former Saratoga Springs standout Erin Davis with three Eastern States victories. Davis prevailed in 1993 and 1994, then again in 1996.

“That course, they hosted everything for our region, from Manhattan Invite, that was my first ever away trip as a middle schooler, and first time I stepped up from freshman to JV, it was chaotic and crazy but I loved it,” Freitag said. “Then there was the year of 9/11 and we went down and wore our U.S.A. socks, and I just had so many really neat memories whether they are tied exactly to running or personally, it’s just such a great course and so many awesome people involved. I’ll never forget Ian Brooks announcing down there, his epic voice coming down that last straightaway.”

Freitag delivered one of the most epic performances at the 2004 Eastern States Championships, not only securing her third consecutive victory, but also becoming the first high school female competitor to eclipse the 14-minute barrier on the 2.5-mile course by clocking 13 minutes, 57 seconds.

“I always think of it as a fast course because of the stone-dust hard surface and then you throw in those hills, and maybe it’s not so fast, but in my mind it was,” Freitag said. “And I love that you cross that bridge, also I still remember that course like the back of my hand, I think I could go jog it right now. (But) when you cross the bridge and then there’s like this giant hilly loop, that to me, that’s where I knew I was going to drop people. I love that burn so much. And then you get to finish up on the fast part again.”

After placing second as a freshman in 2002, Freitag followed with three Foot Locker Northeast titles in 2003-05 on the 5-kilometer course at Van Cortlandt Park. She earned All-America honors at the national final in San Diego in 2002 and 2003, along with placing in the top 30 in all four championship appearances.

“That was super fun, it was a different, it was less as a team because at Manhattan we were always trying to crush it, and then you go onto the big stage to Foot Locker and earning a trip to San Diego and you were running against the best of the best and I hadn’t seen most of those girls all year long,” Freitag said. “At the end of the day, no one had any idea who was going to make that top eight at the time, and I loved the thrill of that, just not knowing. It was one of the only starting lines I stepped on and was just not sure of what the outcome was going to be.

“And then to cross the finish line and see how as going to be your teammate that was cool to see too, like Ari Lambie, the Trotter twins (Kathleen and Amanda), those people, we still follow each other on social media, and it’s funny how you keep those connections forever from that one fun experience in high school.”

But the Van Cortlandt Park experience that remains most meaningful still today to Freitag is winning at the 2006 USA Junior Cross Country Championships, which served as the selection meet for the World Junior Cross Country Championships in Japan.

Freitag, who completed her high school career at Royal High in Simi Valley before attending Oregon, captured the 6-kilometer title in 20:45, holding off fellow California standouts McKayla Plank of Archbishop Mitty (20:46), a freshman at Iona, and Kauren Tarver of Serrano (20:47).

“That’s probably my favorite memory because I was going through a lot then, my family was about to move to California because I had already signed with Oregon and my family wanted to move out West, I had a lot of stressors in life at that time and that race to me was just a way to be like, ‘I’m still here,’” Freitag said. “The gun goes off and I just remember it started hailing, snowing and blizzarding at one point, the weather was all over the place. I think I was in sixth or seventh with like the straightaway to go. And I was just trying to make the team and then I was just kind of like catching people, and my coach at the time was like, ‘Just win the damn thing.’ So I just kept going and that’s where I really remember Ian Brooks and yelling my name in his British voice, and snow coming down.

“It’s such a mental game, like the second I got excited and could feel the win, my pace went from 6:30 to 5-minute pace in that last straightaway. The energy that park can bring with the Northeast people that are a part of it is pretty special.”

And Freitag looks forward to experiencing that Van Cortlandt Park energy again Saturday, reminiscing about some of her proudest career achievements, as she still ranks among the top six competitors in meet history nearly two decades after her memorable sub-14 performance and third straight Eastern States title.

Freitag will then return to explore new experiences as a wife and mother in Oregon, focusing her work with On Athletics Club on in-store build outs, while allowing her the career flexibility that coaching wasn’t able to currently provide with a young child.

“I loved coaching and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity with my former coach (Vin) and it was amazing, but then I had a kid. So I loved the coaching and everything, but once my son was born, I took two weeks off, and then dove right back into it,” Freitag said. “I thought I could do it, but weekend after weekend of travel and my husband being a single parent, it was too much, it caught up pretty fast. (But) I’ve always loved On, loved the Pacific Northwest, and have a ton of family and friends here so we made a choice to go back.

“I always have to give stuff a try, I’ll always regret not taking opportunities as they come, I’ve always felt life is too short not to do something that you’re excited about, so I’m glad we went for it, but after two years we packed our bags and are very happy to be back.”