RAVEN ORANGE CAPS UNDEFEATED SEASON WITH NATIONAL TITLE IN THE 400 METER HURDLES
Raven Orange capped a dominant freshman season by capturing a National Title in the 400 Meter Hurdles at the NJCAA Division III National Track Meet at Troy, New York.
Orange, a freshman from Carteret, New Jersey, did not lose a race all season in the event.
"To be able to call myself a national champion feels pretty amazing honestly," said Orange. "If anyone were to tell me when I was 11 that I would be standing on a podium next to a bunch of other great athletes holding a first-place medal, I would've looked at them like they were crazy. The title makes me appreciate all the hard practices and sore muscles I had to overcome just to be in the position I'm in today."
Middlesex College first-year Head Coach Reggie James saw the potential in Orange from the start.
"Raven has been one of the most humble, hard-working student athletes I have coached," said James. "She worked hard and after the first practice I knew we had something special. I even mentioned to our Athletic Director Rocco Constantino multiple times that we would win a nationals in the 400 meter hurdles."
On the first day of the meet in the preliminaries, Orange ran a 1:10.17 in the event, which was the second fastest time behind Grace Bostic from St. Charles CC in Missouri.
Orange remained confident and poised after her performance in the preliminaries, but knew she would have to improve her time.
"After preliminaries, I felt very confident in myself but also extremely nervous all at once," said Orange. "I came in at 1:10, and my biggest competition had run a 1:09, so that put me in a mental state where I had to lock in and make sure I ran my best during finals."
James remained confident in Orange as well and focused on her mental preparation going into the finals and the runner came through with her personal best in the most important race she ran this year.
"Going into prelims, our number one goal was to make the finals and do so as comfortably as possible," said James. "We knew that we had a target on our back, and because this was Raven's first national meet, I knew she would be a little nervous. But I wanted her to continue to do her usual routine and biggest adjustment was to make sure that she would still be fresh for the finals the next day. After her race, I knew Raven was ready to run something fast because of our strategy and how easy she made the prelims look."
After finishing second to Bostic in the preliminaries, Orange bested the freshman from St. Charles CC in the rematch. Orange ran a 1:07.01 in the finals, outpacing Bostic's 1:08.55. Orange was the only runner from a two-year New Jersey college, male or female, to win an NJCAA Division III National Title.
As she was running in the finals, Orange remained focused on her ultimate goal and recognized that her training leading up to the race would push her across the finish line.
"I wanted that national champion title so much and knew that all the effort I put into the race was not about to go to waste," said Orange.
A humble champion, Orange kept her goals coming into this season simple and credited James for his mentorship.
"My goals for this season were the same as every year I've run and that was to have fun and make it memorable. I did not have any expectations considering it was my first time running as a college student," said Orange. "Coach boosted my confidence more than I've ever had before. He made sure that I knew I had a lot of potential to hold the national title and from the first day of practice to the last, he pushed me to where I needed to be."
James recognized that the national championship wasn't just a positive for Orange, but that it also brought positive recognition to Middlesex College and his Track and Field program.
"Raven's national title will hopefully show that we are a program on the rise," said James. "I have had numerous high school coaching friends reach out to me since the championship telling me about kids that would fit with the track program. I am also a believer of dual sport athletes so maybe we can get more dual sports athletes into Middlesex that not would only help my program but all programs at Middlesex. Some of the best athletes I have coached were dual sports athletes."
Middlesex College Director of Athletics Rocco Constantino echoed James' remarks and was thrilled for Orange and her National Title.
"We are very fortunate that someone like Raven is representing Middlesex College on the national stage," said Constantino. "She's the perfect example of what a high-achieving student-athlete should be. Raven is not only an incredible athlete, but she is also a very good student and a fantastic young woman. She is a terrific role model for all of our students and I am happy we're attracting such talented people to Middlesex."
Under the leadership of first-year Head Coach Reggie James, Middlesex College also sent four other runners to the National Meet and all finished in the top 15 of their respective events with each setting a personal best.
The last Middlesex College female track and field athlete to win a National Title was Yanique Folkes, who won the Triple Jump championship in 2008. The last male athlete to win a national track and field title was Christopher Revolus, who won the 10,000 meters in 2014.