MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Ripley senior Tori Starcher has verbally committed to continue her cross country and track & field careers at the University of Notre Dame.
Starcher has won all twelve events she has competed in at the state high school track championships (9 individual, 3 relays) and has guided the Vikings to consecutive state team championships.
“I chose Notre Dame because it had a little bit of everything I was looking for in a school,” Starcher told Joe Stevens of MetroNews affiliate WMOV in Ravenswood. “Obviously it is a great academic school. Athletically, it has great teams as well. I loved the social aspects, the academic aspects and athletic teams. Overall, it was a really good fit for me.”
Starcher set a new meet record in the mile run at the Penn Relays in April (4:38.19). She attracted interest from a number of top-level Division 1 programs, including Oregon and Stanford.
She won the 2017 state cross country championship as a sophomore but it appears Starcher will be unable to go after a second title next month. A stress reaction in her tibia will likely cause her to miss the event.
“It was almost like a break,” Starcher said. “I just have to take a little time off. As of now, I am not planning on running at states. I am just looking forward to healing.”
Notre Dame finished eighth at the NCAA cross country championships last fall and they are favored to win the ACC this year.
“Right now, the biggest thing is that I just wanted to go to a school that I could compete and run at a high level but have the academics at a high level. I think Notre Dame fits that really well.”