St. John's University Athletics
Stephanie Van Pelt Inks Professional Running Contract
11/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
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QUEENS, N.Y. - Following an outstanding career and All-American senior season, former St. John's track & field and cross country star Stephanie Van Pelt signed a professional running contract with the HOKA NJNY Track Club earlier this fall.
Van Pelt, who garnered Honorable Mention All-American accolades after placing 17th in the women's 1,500-meter race at last year's NCAA Division I National Championships, owns multiple indoor and outdoor St. John's school-records. The recent graduate will now train with the NJNY Track Club and has the opportunity to compete at both national and local competitions, including several held at the Ocean Breeze facility in her hometown of Staten Island, N.Y., and the New Balance Track & Field Armory in Washington Heights, N.Y.
"We are thrilled that Stephanie Van Pelt has signed a professional running contract with HOKA NJNY Track Club. Her development into one of the top up-and-coming mid-distance runners in the country during her time here at St. John's was a testament to her work ethic and competitive spirit," said Head Coach Jim Hurt. "I truly enjoyed working with her and we look forward to her having a long and successful career as a professional runner. HOKA has done a great job supporting female runners to continue their post-collegiate running careers and the NJNY Track club, under the guidance of Frank Gagliano and John Trautmann, has a great tradition of developing world- and national-class runners. We are very excited to see what Stephanie will accomplish in her professional running career."
The track club, based out of Westchester, N.Y., is led under the tutelage of famed track & field coach, Frank 'Gag' Gagliano. Gagliano has a decorated coaching career, having spent the majority of his career at Georgetown, as the head coach and director of track & field. During this time with the Hoyas, Gagliano produced 140 All-America performers, five Olympians, seven individual national champions, and 23 BIG EAST championship teams. Since coaching professionals exclusively, Coach Gagliano has trained a countless number of athletes to USATF Nationals Finals, World Championship teams, World Championship finals, Olympic Teams and Olympic Finals.
"It's honestly a dream to train under legendary Coach Gagliano and represent such an amazing brand and club. It's really a great experience that I'm still able to run in New York, because not everyone has the opportunity to pursue track & field after college," said Van Pelt. "I owe Coach Hurt and [Volunteer Assistant Coach Tom Farrell] everything! They believed in me throughout my four years at St. John's and I learned so much from them. I'm very grateful for my time at St. John's and I'm confident I will have faster times running with NJNY Track Club, which will ultimately help me reach my goals!"
HOKA One One, a running shoe outfitter, is the club's main sponsor. The club is designated as a USATF Elite Development Club and offers veteran racers and fresh post-collegiate talent the opportunity to train together, compete in local and national events, and pursue Olympic dreams. The group of runners consists of both men and women ranging from the 800-meter to the 10,000-meter races on the track, with a number of cross country and road racing performers as well.
Founded in 2009, the club sent fourteen athletes to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, producing one Olympian and a total of four top-ten performances, in its first Olympics cycle.
The club also focuses on a number of community efforts off the track, which have included supporting the New York Road Runners Young Runners program, coaching local youth track clubs, organizing and supporting local events, Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, and supporting the Girls on the Run program.
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