Running down memory lane with an NCAA champion

Sure, not every NCAA championship garners the same feverish excitement as the recently completed March Madness tournament.

Yet the memories that are created will live a lifetime in the minds of young athletes competing in sports which don’t necessarily captivate an entire continent for weeks on end.

Just ask Kaitlyn Tallman Toohey. In the fall of 2009, the Manitoulin Island native was a key component of the Villanova Wildcats women’s cross-country team which rose to prominence, emerging as national champions.It was quite a crowning moment for the spirited young lady.

Tallman Toohey is currently back in Sudbury completing a placement as an occupational therapist on the inpatient psychiatry floor at Sudbury Regional Hospital as part of her masters studies.

The eldest of three girls in the family, Tallman Toohey was first exposed to the cross-country trails in Grade 3 or 4, thanks in large part to the coaching of Margaret Stringer at Central Manitoulin Public School. Younger sisters Rebecca and Emma both followed suit, while Tallman Toohey mixed in an interest in figure skating simultaneously.

“When I got to high school, my passion was running, so I kind of focused on that,” the 23-year-old said.

Blessed with a focus and dedication to training seldom seen in young teens, Tallman Toohey enjoyed success early, collecting a series of OFSAA medals through Grades 9 and 10, including winning the all-Ontario 1,500-metre race as a junior.

“It’s very difficult, especially when you see your friends going out, having fun, staying up late,” Tallman Toohey said. “For me, I felt like I couldn’t do that because it would jeopardize my training.”

But like so many distance runners who have achieved success, the highs were often followed by the lows brought on by dealing with injuries.

A stress fracture in Grade 11 provided the daughter of Peter and Verna Tallman with her first true obstacle in the sport.

“It was disappointing, but running had been a part of my life for so long, I knew that I wanted to keep going,” she said.

It was a pendulum swing of emotions that recurred regularly over the years to come. Still showing signs of emerging as a top-end talent, Tallman Toohey attracted attention from a number of North American schools, but ultimately narrowed her choice for post-secondary to either Villanova, in Pennsylvania, or Guelph.

“It was either stay in Canada or go to the States — and it was a difficult decision, especially at that time, because I was kind of doubting myself a bit,” she said.

Drawing heavily on the support of her parents, Tallman Toohey committed to the Philadelphia-based school just coming onto the scene of women’s cross-country running.

The trails of the Pennsylvania countryside were awfully tough to beat.

“For training, every Wednesday, we would go to Valley Forge,” she said. “That was one of my favourite places to run.”

Unlike her early high school years, the highly motivated northern Ontario teen did not enjoy success out of the gate at ‘Nova. “I got my butt kicked down there the first year,” she said with a smile. “It opened my eyes, but there was some sort of hunger in me that wanted more. That summer, I came home and trained super hard.”

By her junior season, things were coming together nicely, with personal best times giving way to increased confidence by the week.

“I started feeling stronger, fitter, faster,” she said.

All the while, the momentum within the team grew, as the Wildcats demonstrated an increased ability to compete at a national level, based on the parallel progress shown by Tallman Toohey and her teammates.

An early season meet championship in Oregon in her senior year set the tone for an incredible ride for Tallman Toohey and company in the fall of 2009. Thoughts of a national championship began to take root.

“It was one of those things that was on our minds, but nobody was brave enough to say it — we didn’t want to jinx it,” the runner said.

Arriving at the NCAA championships in Terra Haute, Indiana with an undefeated season on the line, the Villanova ladies came through when it mattered the most.

“We knew that it was close with Washington,” Tallman Toohey said. “I can’t remember if we waited for the official score, but when we found out, it was madness.”

Still, the ebb and flow that had punctuated her entire career remained constant in her senior year, as Tallman Toohey was forced to pull out of her last race of the outdoor track and field season.

“It was a huge heart-breaker for me, but I can’t be disappointed with the time I had down there. You take the good with the bad.”

With the next phase of her life set to develop before her, Tallman Toohey understands her passion will always be there.

“Running will always be part of my life — but the reality is that there are more priorities right now.”
Still, the memories of a national championship remain.

Randy Pascal is the founder of SudburySports.com and a contributing sports editor for Northern Life.