The 2023-24 Rams Reflect is the ninth in a series of annual collections. Senior captains and representatives of Suffolk teams have been invited to contribute viewpoints based on personal experience from both their senior seasons and full varsity careers at Suffolk.
For a complete listing of past and present Rams’ Reflections, click here.
Nico Miele, Men’s Cross Country/Indoor & Outdoor Track & Field | Hometown: Burlington, N.J. | Major: Psychology
My life would not be the same today if it weren't for Suffolk cross country and track and field. It gave me a way to continue my education, while doing the sport that I love. Having my senior year of high school cut off by COVID put my whole life in a cyclone, but being recruited by Coach Feldman gave me an opportunity to come to Boston and be a part of something amazing. Our team is something pretty special and being a part of the first men's team from Suffolk to win a CCC championship was nothing short of an incredible feeling. The guys on my team have become not only my teammates, but my family for life and I can't thank them enough for being there for me through these years.
If there is one word that shows what it means to be a member of our team it is resilience. Our team has overcome countless battles of running that only makes us stronger. Bad races, injuries, and tough losses only fuel us to work harder than we did before and come back competing even better. Those are all just setbacks and push us to win even more. Resilience is what it takes to be good at our sport more than any running can and our team displays that time and time again. Resilience is why our team chooses to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to practice every morning and resilience is why we win.
I want to take a moment to give a bigger shoutout to my teammates and roommates Conor (Garrity), Kely (Maloney), and Tim (Barry). Living with you guys and being able to compete on the same track as you guys these past years has given me memories I will have for life. You are not just my friends, but my brothers for life. You guys kept me motivated through these years more than you guys realize and being able to just commute to practice with you guys every morning makes the 6:00 a.m. practices worth it. And even more for waking me up when I sleep through 15 alarms.
Lastly, I would like to say thank you Coach Feldman for taking a chance on a random kid from New Jersey. I never thought I would have found my way up to Boston for college until I came up here for my recruiting visit and talked to you. You motivated me to continue my passion for running and showed me what my potential could be. These past four years have been the best of my life and you bringing me here is the reason for that. I may not have had the personal goals I wanted on the track, but I wouldn't have done it any other way.
I walk out as a senior extremely fulfilled in the time I spent on this team and look forward to watching the continued success I know the team will have in the years to come. And overall most importantly, GO RAMS!