After years of dominating other runners in South Carolina, Nation Ford’s Katie Pou will be expanding her boarders and will run at the University of Pennsylvania next year.
A three-time defending 5A state cross-country champion, Pou picked Penn over Duke University, Georgetown University, University of North Carolina and University of Alabama.
Pou visited the school this past weekend and met with some of the other runners at the school. She also said she liked how the men and women’s teams got along.
“It was nice to interact with them,” she said. “I really bonded with the girls. It was never awkward at all.”
Pou will be attending the Wharton School of Business while at Penn and will be majoring in business. She looks to graduate with a Bachelors in Economics and plans on going into finance or analytics.
Not only will she be having a full academic load at the Ivy League school, but she will also be participating in both cross-country and track.
“I was looking for a school with both academics and athletics,” she said.
For now, Pou still has goals left to accomplish at Nation Ford. In what she considers a slow start to her senior year, Pou said she feels like she is starting to find another gear.
“I haven’t started the way I wanted to,” she said. “I am starting to feel more like myself now. I am looking to get a fourth title. I want to finish my senior season strong. I want to leave a nice mark with my team.”
Pou will be going for her fourth consecutive state 5A title next month in the state championship, which will be back in Columbia at the Sandhills Research Center Nov. 7.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
