If you are going to build a cross country and track program you might want to begin your recruiting process in the home of Laura and Kate O’Neill of Milton Mass. You see, they would be able to provide you with twin daughters to start the dominant program. Kate and Laura O’Neil will be our first inductees this morning. Kate O’Neill entered Milton High School in 1995 and graduated in 1999 with a high school resume that became the envy of many. Kate would help lead the Wildcats to 3 Baystate Invitational Team Championships, 3 Class C X-C Championships, and 2 All State XC Championships. On the track she was a member of 2 victorious All State 4 X 800 meter relay teams, a 2nd place finish on the Outdoor National distance medley relay team, and in one of her most memorable races, she became the All-State Champion in the 1 mile run when she out dueled Marblehead’s Shalane Flanagan to win in a time of 5:01.12 to Shanlane’s 5:01.32. Before she was to leave Milton high school Kate obtained one of her goals when she broke 5 minutes in the mile with a 4:57.39 2nd place finish at the All State meet her senior year. Upon graduation from Milton High School, Kate would go on to star at Yale University. While at Yale Kate would earn six All-America honors, 10 individual Ivy titles and six Yale records. Kate was a three-time cross country All-American and won Ivy titles her last two years. She was the 2002 NCAA Northeast District Runner of the Year for winning the NCAA Regional qualifying meet. She went on to earn the best finish ever for an Ivy League woman at the NCAA X-C Championships with a second-place run. Kate won eight Heptagonal track championships and a pair of ECAC titles while earning three All-America honors. Upon graduation from Yale she held the school records in the indoor 3,000 and 5,000 and the outdoor 5,000 and 10,000. She also anchored the last leg of Yale’s NCAA qualifying distance medley relay team that broke the school record in 2003. Also in 2003 she qualified for two individual events and one relay at the indoor NCAAs, while no other Ivy school even had one female qualify. Combined, she was an 8-time All-American in track and cross-country * 3-time Academic All-American * 10-time Ivy League Champion * 2-time Academic All-Ivy * 10-time First Team All-Ivy and Co-winner of the Nellie Pratt Elliot Award - Yale's most prestigious female athletic award. In 2004 she finished 3rd at the United States Olympic trials in the 10,000 meter making Kate a 2004 Olympian. Also in 2004 she was the top US finisher at World Cross-Country Championships in Belgium. Just a few weeks ago, Kate won her first U.S. National Championship in the half marathon in Houston Texas with a time of 1:11.57.
Class: 1997 Inducted: 2008