PEPPER PIKE, Ohio (courtesy of @UrsulineArrows) – Ursuline College cross country/track and field coach Ralph White can be a very convincing person. On a recent trip to the NCAA Indoor National Championships with sophomore Nicole Burlinson, White talked a cleaning lady at a hotel into allowing Burlinson to use the pool so she could get loose between her running workouts.
Burlinson, White and assistant coach Maddy Outman were in Winston-Salem, N.C., for the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships in mid-March because from the moment Burlinson stepped foot on campus in August of 2012, White convinced her she could become an All-American.
The only problem was the Great Britain native didn't know what an All-American was. Burlinson was introduced to Outman and was told one of her new coaches was a 13-time All-American in sprints, jumps, hurdles and multi-events. It didn't impress her as much as it probably should have.
"I would hear people get introduced as an All-American and I didn't know what it meant," Burlinson laughed. "Once it was explained to me, it became my goal to become an All-American."
And now she is one.
Burlinson ran a then-school record time of 2:10.80 in the 800 at Grand Valley State University's 'Big Meet' on Feb. 14 to qualify for the national meet. It was her first 800 of the season and her time shattered her own school record of 2:14.06 that she set as a freshman. It was well under the NCAA Division II Provisional Qualifying Time of 2:16.50 and punched her ticket to Winston-Salem.
"It was such a huge relief when I saw that qualifying time," Burlinson said. "We only had two meets remaining after our trip to Grand Valley State so there was a lot of pressure to get it done then and there. At that point, the coaches did not discuss a back-up plan with me about what we would do if I didn't qualify in Michigan. We were convinced that if everything went as it should, I would qualify."
Burlinson didn't run the 800 in UC's next two meets as she geared up for Nationals. During the 450-mile trip to North Carolina, Burlinson listened to her two coaches, White and Outman, talk about past experiences at National Meets. There were lots of stories to tell.
White has tutored some of the best athletes in the country, having seen 36 student-athletes win national titles under his watch. He was an assistant coach at Southern Methodist University when the men's program won the 1986 NCAA Division I Outdoor title and was the head coach of the women's team at Williams College when the Ephs won the 2007 NCAA Division III Indoor crown.
He came to Ursuline with a résumé that included coaching 15 Olympians and more than 350 All-Americans, but now can add Burlinson to the list. She ran a new school record time of 2:10.67 in the 800 finals on March 15 to place fifth in the county. By virtue of scoring four team points, she earned NCAA Division II All-American honors and became the first Ursuline student-athlete ever to do so.
Nearly 1,500 student-athletes competed in the 800 during the course of the year and only 17 qualified for the National Championships.
"It was such an incredible experience," Burlinson said of her trip to Nationals. "I really enjoy those high level meets where I might not win, but the competition around me will make me run fast. I have a love of racing that I didn't have before I got to Ursuline. I had never run an 800 indoors before I came here but my top time was a 2:17 outdoors so I've chipped seven seconds off in two years. That's drastic in an 800. I want to keep getting pushed."
She is quick to credit her coaches and teammates for her success. Teammates Rachel Cole, Bea Indurain and Diona Roberts were in Florida vacationing on Ursuline's Spring Break but the trio stopped in North Carolina to cheer on Burlinson while driving back to the Cleveland area.
"The coaches sat down with me and made a plan that we were sure would work. I just had to follow it," Burlinson said. "In the finals, I was behind by a couple meters after my first lap on the 200-meter track and I knew my splits were where they needed to be. I just had to remain calm and have faith that the pack would slow down and come back to me. Sure enough it did. The coaches convinced me that if I ran my race, I would be an All-American and they were right."
The coaches have convinced Burlinson to shoot for a new goal: national champion.
"Once I became an All-American, Coach White started talking about working to become a national champion. That's his expectation. Both coaches set high goals and sometimes its eye-opening because I see how much they really do believe in me. It gives me so much confidence. The coaches know I work hard and they have given me, and our team, a mentality that we can be better than we have been."
Burlinson got to experience the joy of being on the enormous stage and she wants to feel that again with her teammates.
"I had friends and family back in Great Britain who watched the video stream over the Internet and when I finished my race, I checked my phone and I had so many notifications. Word traveled really quickly," she said. "My teammates were almost as excited as I was. That taste of national competition made me want to qualify for the Outdoor National Championships so much more and I hope the next time we go back, my teammates are there competing with me as well."
"Nicole is our hardest working kid and she excels in all that she does, whether it's competing or in the classroom," White said. "She learns quickly and does exactly what we say when it comes to race strategy. I always tell the kids that if they follow our staff philosophy and it doesn't go well, it's our fault. It takes the pressure off the kids."
Without much pressure, Burlinson has excelled and will be an important part of the program going forward.
"Nicole is helping us establish Ursuline as a great track program," White added. "She pushes her teammates to perform better and makes everyone else step up. She's a great leader. We've started to win meets and we're a few more athletes away from taking this program to the next level. It's a really exciting time for all of us.