2 Central Runners Will Bring Talents to Collegiate Level

Their names have been splattered across sports articles in publications – both in print and online – for the past six months.

And their hard work has truly paid off.

West Morris Central’s girls cross country and winter track team leaders, Brennan Sharkey and Kylene Cochrane, signed their individual letters of intent recently, publicly announcing which college they’ll be bringing their talents to in the fall of 2014.

Sharkey, who began the 2013 season by putting her name in the history books with the second fastest 5K time at Freedom Park in Randolph. From there, her fall cross country season was nothing but successful, winning meet after meet. She owns the course record at Villa Walsh and the fifth fastest time at Greystone.

The senior officially signed on with Bucknell University, where she’ll enroll in the fall and major in business management.

“I liked Bucknell a lot because I got a really good feel on campus. I loved the coach and his excitement for running. The girls on the team were really nice and fun to be around, and the school is known for having exceptional academics. It was an all-around good fit for me,” Sharkey said during her signing. 

Sharkey’s teammate and fellow distance runner extraordinaire, Kylene Cochrane, will also head to Pennsylvania to further her studies, as she signed on to run with the team at the University of Pennsylvania.

Fresh off three gold medals at the Morris County Indoor Track Championships, Cochrane spent her Central career winning event after event, and was the first girl to break a five-minute indoor mile at Drew University. Cochrane will enroll at UPenn in the fall in the school’s college of arts and sciences.

“Aside from just the prestigious education, the University of Pennsylvania stood out to me because when I stepped onto campus, I felt as if I was at home. The coaches told me how much they believed in me and it really meant everything to me. I fell in love with the team, and I am looking forward to stepping onto Franklin Field,” Cochran said during her signing.

Both student athletes ran in the fall’s Meet of Champions and helped the winter team win its first-ever county title. 

Information provided by West Morris Central High School.