When Rachel Gagnon entered Oxford Academy, she had her sights set on the educational advances she would gain. She had not participated in sports since playing soccer in second grade.
But after deciding to participate in track and field, Gagnon has added the athlete back into her student-athlete status. And as the Patriots look to send its participants to the CIF-SS preliminaries on May 13, Gagnon will attempt to add to what has become a solid track resume to go along with the academic one.
Gagnon became one of the team’s runners in the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles and in the past three years, she has become one of the league’s best in the events. This year she broke her own school and league records in both events.
In league finals on Tuesday, she was crowned league champion for the 3rd year in a row for the 100m and 300m hurdles and was also the anchor on Oxford’s the 4 x 100 relay, which also placed first.
At the recent Orange County Championships she finished 4th in the 100m and 5th in the 300m. Despite only getting involved in track upon entering high school, Gagnon has risen to be able to compete with the top hurdlers in Orange County.
“The strides this program has brought me since I started running in ninth grade are enormous, both athletically and personally, and I’m incredibly grateful the support I’ve been given to pursue both athletics and academics at a high level over the past four years,” Gagnon said.
In the Academy League she was named female athlete of the year and is an OC Athlete of the Year nominee. She was also the Academy League Track and Field MVP in both 2015 and 2016. MVP for 2017 will be announced on May 15.
This year, Gagnon was named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Oxford Academy, which is a school that was ranked No. 2 in California for academics by US News and World Report. Next year, Gagnon has been accepted to the University of Chicago, where she will study economics and computer science, as well as compete in track. It’s a new challenge she is eager to tackle.
“I am excited to compete at the collegiate level while studying at the University of Chicago next year,” Gagnon said.
This article appeared in the May 10, 2017 print edition of the News Enterprise.
