Tuesday was a proud day for the Cranford Athletic department, as well as the Englese family, as Cranford High School track star Natalie Englese signed her letter of intent to attend Georgetown University for track and field in the fall.
Englese narrowed her decision between a few high-quality schools before deciding on Georgetown, whose track and field program appealed to the track star.
“It was a hard decision because I’m so fortunate to be looking at other great schools like Boston College and Virginia, but the coaching staff is amazing, the coach is so great,” said Englese. “I thought I wanted to go further away, like to North Carolina, but in the end, I think it’s the perfect distance to D.C. It just has the whole package; I loved it, and I’m so excited to be a part of that team.”
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Englese aspires to contribute the Hoyas’ 4x400 relay team, an area where she excelled for four years as part of the Cougars’ squad.
“The girls 4-by-4 won the Big East (for Georgetown), and I’m just so excited because I won’t be the best 400 (meter) runner going into it, so I really have to work hard,” said Englese. “My goal is to be part of that girls’ 4-by-4 team.”
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Hard work and teamwork seem to come naturally to Englese, who has impressed those around her with her moral character, work ethic, and aspiration to be a team player.
“I indicated to her that you work hard, be blessed on what you’ve been given, be very humble for what you have, and be very, very happy about what has been given to you and use it in a very positive manner,” said Ralph Englese, Natalie’s father. “I think she has, and I want her to continue to understand that she has to continue to work hard, try her best, be very, very supportive for the people around her, be very thankful for the people that support her, and be thankful every day for how blessed she is.”
“Natalie’s a great kid; she’s an outstanding student and the ultimate competitor. It’s just great to see, after four years of hard work and dedication in both areas—academically and athletically—that it’s paid off,” added Cranford High School Athletic Director Marc D. Taglieri. “It doesn’t always turn out this way, but when you have that stick-to-itiveness as an athlete and stay with and believe in your coaches and what they’re telling you, it’s a great story.”
It was also a proud day for the Cranford athletic program, who will be sending yet another athlete to compete at a collegiate level.
“Anytime one of our kids is moving on to the next level, it validates what our coaches are talking to them about and what they’re preaching to them, and that believe in the system we’ve installed here”, said Taglieri. “It’s certainly a proud moment for me and for our coaching staff.”
Although she looks forward to moving on to compete for Georgetown, Englese said she is also very grateful for her time and success at Cranford.
“The coaching staff has been great here at Cranford. I’m gonna miss them so much”, said Englese. “They have worked with me so much with my relay teams and individually. They have been so helpful, so I think they set me up for a great future in track and field at the college level.”
