Plymouth North graduate helped start a run of success for the school's track and field program
Former Plymouth North Cross-Country Head Coach John Laverty points to this week's 50-for-50 profile Nicole Borofski as the genesis for the most recent run of success of the girls program at the high school.
"I think it all started with the impact Nicole had on the program with her success as a runner," Laverty said. "Nicole had an amazing running career and she paved the way for athletes like Jacky Sullivan, Jordan Callahan, Kate Fisher, Leanne Galanek and Sam Curtin, who would later come through the program."
One of the best female distance runners in the history of Plymouth North, Nicole had the school record in the 800-meter dash as well as the mile when she graduated in 2013. Those track talents led her to the national stage when she qualified for the New Balance Nationals as a senior.
"I know it wasn't all that long ago, but I still miss being involved in high school sports to this day," said the 25-year-old, who is now an IT specialist with W.B. Mason. "Running is mostly an individual sport, but I loved being part of a team with the track and field program at Plymouth North. You trained together with the same people each day and your teammates were always there to support you.
"That team atmosphere is what I miss the most about high school sports. The support you get from teammates when you are in competition is awesome."
Nicole played soccer through middle school but made the transition to cross-country in high school after running a timed mile at PCIS on the same course where she'd later experience so much glory in high school.
"I ran a pretty good time in the mile and I guess that is where it all started. From then on I was a distance runner," Nicole said. "I've always been a pretty competitive person and that works well for a runner. That competitiveness is what drove me to do an extra training session or to put in that last mile at the end of the day."
"I think I was always willing to do the little things to become a better runner," she added. "The way I looked at it, if I'm not putting in the extra work, someone else is, and they were the ones getting better as a runner."
Laverty said the willingness to put in the extra time on the road combined with her mental toughness were two key elements that worked well together to separate Nicole from the rest of the pack.
"You could not meet a sweeter person, but Nicole is incredibly strong-willed as a competitor and such a competitive person. Nicole's mental approach to every race helped make her one of the best runners I've ever coached," John said. "One of her best qualities as a runner was her competitive nature. She came in as a freshman and right away she took over as our top runner. The program went on a pretty good run at that time, and she was a big part of keeping us at the top of the list.
"One of the things that I still find incredible about Nicole was that she made the cross-country state championship race four different times, every time as an individual. There are precious few spots available each year in the state finals for individual runners and to get a spot in that race four years running is an amazing accomplishment."
But, John said, as much as Nicole accomplished with the Blue Eagles, her high school running accolades paled in comparison to what she would do at nationally ranked Stonehill College. By the time she graduated from there in 2017 she was a nine-time All-American and twice was selected the NCAA's Division II East Regional Athlete of the Year.
"Nicole really blossomed as a runner at Stonehill," John said. "She was always the type of a person who was willing to put in the work to get better, and she got some amazing coaching during her time in college that helped her take advantage of all her running ability."
But her success in college took a little while fall into place. Nicole remembers having to take time to "figure things out" as a freshman before starting on her road to college success.
"Everything for me was starting over again when I got to Stonehill," Nicole said. "Everyone on the team was the best runner on their high school team, and I had to figure out how to use that type of competition to help make me a better runner instead of being scored by it. There were so many talented runners on those teams, and that kind of competition helped me become a better runner as well as a better teammate."
Challenges are something that have always driven Nicole, and that's what drew her to the steeplechase event in college. The race is run over a 3,000-meter course (just under two miles) and includes hurdles spread out on the course as well as a water pit that runners have to navigate.
"The steeplechase is a different style of distance running, and I really loved the challenge of it. You had to be mentally tough to run those kinds of races," Nicole said, who would eventually win two All-American accolades in cross-country, four more during her winter track career and three additional one's during her spring track and field seasons. "We had a lot of 5K runners and milers on the team at that time, but not too many people were interested in running the steeplechase event. It's not for the faint of heart, but I think that might be what drew me to it. Every race was a different challenge and I kind of liked that."
By the time she was done, Nicole held Stonehill's track and field records for the indoor 3,000-meter race and as a member of the distance medley relay. She also had the top time in the 5,000-meter steeplechase and was the NE-10 indoor mile champion as both a sophomore and a junior.
Nicole's still around the Stonehill track program as a volunteer assistant coach.
Each week during 2020, the 50-for-50 project will profile a Plymouth person or state championship team that positively impacted the town in the last 50 years.
This was previously published on the Wicked Local: https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/old-colony-memorial/2020/12/05/50-50-nicole-borofski-one-best-runners-plymouth-north/3796335001/
