Fairbanks’ Hoover will continue XC, track careers at Bowling Green

From the starting line, Fairbanks’ Rachael Hoover had her sights on the collegiate level, accumulating accolades one quarter mile at a time.

Earlier this month, the senior Lady Panther announced she’ll be taking her talents to Bowling Green State University as a member of the university’s cross-country and track and field programs.

A staple of Fairbanks’ running teams, Hoover seeks to compliment the Falcons’ stable of athletes.

Fairbanks’ Rachael Hoover leads the pack during the school’s cross-country invitational earlier this season. The senior Lady Panther is slated to attend Bowling Green to continue her cross-country and track careers.

(Photo by Aleksei Pavloff)

As an eighth grader, Hoover knew she wanted to extend her running career past the high school level while not sure of where her talents would take her.

“I wasn’t ever thinking that it would be Division I,” she said. “But I knew that it would be something I wanted to continue.”

Inspired by her uncle, Steve Hoover, who competed at the Division III level at SUNY Fredonia, the idea of being a collegiate athlete stuck with her throughout her high school career.

Hoover is no stranger to Ohio’s biggest stages.

The Lady Panther has qualified for the OHSAA state cross-country meet in November from her freshman to junior seasons.

In track and field, she’s also qualified for the state meet during the same time frame.

Now in her senior year, Hoover has set the standard for herself and the programs she competes for, eyeing a fourth state tournament run in cross-country and track.

Following her first appearance at the state cross country meet, collegiate programs were intrigued with the Lady Panther and her capabilities.

“It was just a personal note of ‘hey, congratulations’ because they aren’t allowed to talk to you yet,” Hoover said.

In her junior season, former FHS head track and field coach Patrick Cotter started advertising his athlete to perspective programs that could benefit from her talents. From there, multiple interested programs started to reach out.

“The ones I really took seriously were about 10 [programs],” Hoover said.

Hoover whittled her top three choices down to Bowling Green, Central Michigan and Western Michigan with a last-minute addition of Ohio University as a potential landing spot.

“I was also planning on a visit to Ohio University, but I never ended up going because I thought Bowling Green was going to be the place I would end up,” she said.

Bowling Green first initiated conversations during Hoover’s junior year after a brief discussion with Cotter.

“I didn’t hear anything until the middle of basketball season from them,” Hoover noted. “I ended up doing a junior day there with the distance team… after that I had steady phone calls and Zoom chats with the team.”

She went on an official visit to Bowling Green a week prior to her announcement that she’d committed to the Falcons’ program.

“I just knew it was my place,” Hoover said. “From the first time I met with the coaches, I just knew there was a connection there.

“They introduced me to the team and I felt a connection with them automatically.”

Hoover intends on studying exercise science with the long-term goal of pursuing a career in cardiac rehabilitation.

While ultimately attaining her goal of being a college athlete, Hoover is still focused on the road ahead.

That starts with the conclusion of her high school cross-country career.

“This season I want to try to break 19 (minutes) and be All-Ohio,” she said. “I normally have a slow start to my season

“But I know that if I keep my confidence in myself, I’ll be able to do it.”

Hoover said she will also balance working toward her final track and field season this winter while also playing basketball.

She added that she wants to run a sub-five minute mile during her final season in the spring.

In the future, Hoover wants to ensure a Mid-American Conference title for the Falcons.

“I don’t care about being a number one runner,” she said. “I just want to support my team and be a part of that winning attitude.”

Speaking from her recruiting experience, Hoover shared her philosophy when it came to her deciding to go the Division I route.

While some may wish to be a top-level athlete, she commented that the lower divisions are something worth considering.

“Believe in those Division III schools because I’ve never had more support in my life than talking to those coaches,” Hoover said. “They showed up to every race and cheered me on… I think that it was a great process to learn how big the running community is.”