Episode #31: Andrea Rheaume (SC4 Women's XC/Track Coach)

Hello and welcome to The Blue Water Running Podcast!  I’m your host, Meran, and this podcast features and celebrates the achievements of high school and collegiate cross country and track/field athletes from the Blue Water Area of Michigan. You can follow Blue Water Running on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.  You can also find meet and athlete reports/articles and a recently added merchandise shop at www.bluewaterrunning.org.We have a BOGO special for this week's podcast: on episode #31 is Andrea Rheaume, who serves as the head women’s cross country and track coach for St. Clair Community College, known as SC4, then on episode #32 Coach Max Whittredge will focus on the men’s program. With Andrea and Max at the helm, the Skippers have seen incredible success and growth in their program over the last several years.  The women’s team was first at the highly competitive MSU Spartan Invite and second in their conference, sending three individuals to the national meet, and in 2023 they were eleventh overall as a team at nationals. The men’s team placed in the top ten at the National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) DII Men's Cross Country Championship in 2022, making school history.  This year, they were second in the junior college division at the Spartan Invitational, second in their conference, and twelfth in the nation.  Both programs saw school records set in the last two seasons, with the men’s record set last year at 25:35 by Glen Davis (PHN), who was named the Michigan Community College Athletic Association’s (MCCAA) Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week twice, and also awarded the U.S. Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Athlete Award of the Week - the first athlete from St. Clair County to do so for cross country.  The women’s cross country record was set this year by Lily Lemanski (Marlette) at 19:40.  In the spring, SC4 will launch its inaugural season of track and field, giving local athletes the chance to also continue their field event or sprint careers as a Skipper. Both coaches will give us some insight into the growth and vision of the programs, the benefits of running for a community college team, and what experiences students can expect as an SC4 athlete in the cross country or track program.Thank you so much for tuning into today’s Blue Water Running podcast. I can’t wait to feature more cross country and track and field athletes from the Blue Water Area…stay tuned because it might just be YOU!  If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please share, subscribe, and leave a review.  You can find The Blue Water Running Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major media players.  You can also ask Alexa to play The Blue Water Running Podcast. Send Blue Water Running a MessageSupport the showhttps://www.bluewaterrunning.org/https://bluewaterrunning.buzzsprout.comInstagram and X @bluewaterrunFacebook/TikTok/Youtube @BlueWaterRunning