Traverse City Record-Eagle

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February 2, 2010

Central runner heads to Northwestern

Perkins to sign on Wednesday

BY MIKE ECKERT

TRAVERSE CITY -- When Katie Perkins was narrowing down her college search, it really came down to one school.

Luckily, it's the same school she will be attending next fall.

Perkins, a track and cross country standout at Traverse City Central, will sign her national letter of intent on Wednesday to run at Northwestern.

"To be honest, I was set on Northwestern almost the whole time," she said. "It really was the only choice."

Perkins is a three-time All-State runner, earning the honor twice in cross country and once in track.

She plans on running for the Wildcats as soon as she arrives on campus in the fall.

"Everyone I met there was really, really nice," Perkins said. "It's a great campus. And I liked the vibe."

Perkins took her official visit last fall and was also impressed with her future teammates.

"I felt really comfortable with them," she said. "I took some other visits and it was awkward. And, I really like the coach."

As a junior in 2008, Perkins was a key member of Central's run to the Division 1 cross country state championship. At the finals, she ran a team-best and PR 18:29.6 and placed 20th overall.

In track, Perkins was the 2008 Record-Eagle Honor Roll champ in the 1,600-meter run in 5:09.

At Northwestern, Perkins is looking at the School of Communications and considering studying film. While she has known for some time she was heading to Evanston, she said signing her letter of intent on Wednesday will be a big relief and be "nice to have it all official."

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