Catching Up With Page Wells '23

3/7/2024

There was no recruiting process, no sign-on-the-dotted-line ceremony, and certainly no fanfare.

Page Wells simply walked into the office of Mike Curcio, the head track and field and cross country coach at Sewanee, when she arrived as a freshman this past August, and asked for a chance to “walk on” to the team.

The 2023 Collegiate graduate had shared four fulfilling and meaningful years with teammates and coaches as a varsity runner at her alma mater. She’d been part of League of Independent Schools and VISAA championship cross country teams and ran a leg of the 4x800 relay that set a standard for excellence at both the league and state level. She’d also evolved into a respected, go-to leader and had served as a captain and mentor for younger athletes.

Suiting up for the Tigers was never really in her thinking, though, until her senior season wound to conclusion.

That’s when she knew that she didn’t want the magical team and competitive experience to end.

Curcio, a longtime coach at Appalachian State before moving to Sewanee in the summer of 2023, gave Page her chance. She proved worthy of his trust.

This past fall as the Tigers’ usual No. 9 runner, she recorded college personal bests of 22:19.4 for 5K and 27:21.6 for 6K races. During the indoor season, she covered 400 meters in 1:09.9, 600 in 1:55.78, and 800 in 2:39.96.

She also ran the anchor leg (in 68 seconds) for the 4x400 team (with Wrenna Morris, Jocelyn Covey, and Ky Monaghan) that covered the distance in 4:33.95 and broke a two-decades-old school indoor record in the Centre College Invitational Feb. 10 in Danville, Kentucky.

“It was definitely a surprise,” she said. “I came to practice the next week, and my coach said, ‘Hey, you’re a record holder. You guys broke the 4x4 record.’ We weren’t aware at the time that it happened. It was really exciting, and we were really proud of what we accomplished.”

One morning recently, Page shared thoughts, insights, and reflections about her time at Collegiate and the lessons she has taken to “the next level.”

Sounds like you just weren’t ready for the running experience to end.

At the end of my spring season senior year, I was having such a great time. I was running really well, and I had so much fun with my team, and I realized, Wow! This is it unless I choose to run at Sewanee. That’s when I knew I wanted to give it a try. So, yes, it was definitely a late decision, and it wasn’t anything official. I just knew that this was something I really enjoyed doing. When I got here, I made it a priority to reach out to the coaching staff and connect with them. They said they were more than happy to have me join the team. That’s where it all started.

Speak about your academic preparation.

When I got here, I felt extremely comfortable with classes and scheduling. Everything I had learned at Collegiate seemed to be more than enough.

In areas such as time management, academic focus, and knowing how to study thoroughly and efficiently?

All of the above. Really, I have so much more time now. When I was at Collegiate, I learned how to stick to a schedule and hit deadlines, and that makes it so much nicer now that I have a more lenient time schedule where professors aren’t checking on me to make sure I’m getting things done. I was taught how to do that in advance, which I really appreciate.

And your athletic preparation, especially considering the last-minute nature of your decision to run?

I didn’t know much going into the fall semester, but I knew I wanted to walk on. I didn’t know anyone on the team, and the coach [Curcio] hadn’t been hired. When I got here, it was completely different [than high school had been] with morning practices and pool practices. It all worked out. It was a nice step-up from high school. It’s more intense. There’s more than one practice a day. There’re team meetings and team dinners. But overall, I think it’s made me a better athlete.

How did you manage the heightened expectations and higher mileage required for college running?

I never really experienced anything like that before, but I’ve stayed injury free. It [increasing mileage from 25-30 per week to 40] really pushed me to a different level. My [track] distance coach (Bill Gautier) is very passionate about high intensity [workouts], which is a little different from what I was used to. I usually don’t run more than two-to-three miles [per day] unless it’s a long run.

And the team element?

We’re a much smaller team than I was used to at Collegiate, so in a way those close-knit relationships are still there. Abby Armstrong from St. Catherine’s is now my teammate. We do a lot of our training together, which is very fun, so I still have that really personal, exciting environment on the track and on the courses.

How hard was the transition from being a senior leader to a freshman newcomer?

It wasn’t all that difficult. I have a lot of really great teammates. A lot of upperclassmen who helped show me the ways here, but, in my mind, we’re all on the same level. We go to practice. There’s no designation between under classmen and upper classmen. It’s a very nice community.

Sounds like the team culture is very positive.

We have a really large campus. A lot of the times those bonding moments come from running on the trails. We go out there and have a really good time together. Those afternoon runs when we just enjoy each other’s presence are what brings us together.

Anything else about your journey?

Yes…Collegiate did an outstanding job preparing me for my next adventure.

~Weldon Bradshaw

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