PROVIDENCE, RI (WPRI) — This week’s Cardi’s Furniture & Mattresses Hometown Sports Hero is Michaela White.
The Classical graduate recently completed her college search, accepting a scholarship to run and play soccer at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
“She’s a gutsy athlete,” said Classical Track Coach Dan O’Kleasky. “If you witnessed her on the soccer field, you see the same thing. She’s just got the tools. She made a tremendous amount of progress in a short time, and I can’t wait to see what she does in the future.”
The recruiting process was a long one, but White’s persistence paid off in the end.
“You just have to reach out to as many coaches as you can, which is what I did for soccer and track towards the end of it,” White said. “And once you start talking with them and having conversations, it is very easy to figure out a place where you’ll feel comfortable. Once I talked with Coach Karly at Minnesota, I felt very comfortable speaking with her and being in that atmosphere.”
The challenge of competing in two sports while adjusting to college life can be daunting, but Michaela had a reassuring conversation with future teammate Rachel Boelke. The junior is a defender for the Bulldog Soccer team and a middle-distance runner for the Track team.
“She said that it took her a semester or two to get her balance, but she’s doing great now so I’m hoping to follow that path,” White said. “I was lucky having to anticipate going in with a soccer family and now I have a track family as well. I’m going to have a bunch of friends in different places, different dorms. I’m going to meet so many people interested in so many different things and call them family, which is exciting for me.”
If you have a Hometown Sports Hero you’d like to nominate, email sports@wpri.com.
