Sophomore Rose Coats, one of Maryland women’s cross country’s premier runners, had a unique arrival as a Terp.

Before she committed to Maryland, Coats largely ran independently. While living in Brooklyn, New York, she didn’t have a high school team to run with.

“I went to school in New York City, so it’s not actually that uncommon for schools to not have very robust athletic programs just because we just don’t have the space,” Coats said.

Because Coats’ high school classes started at 9 a.m., she woke up four hours earlier and went to Prospect Park to start the day running. Without the time to join a club team, she turned to local charity runs and virtual track races to challenge herself and earn official times.

But by the end of 2019, Coats won the 4K at the USA Track and Field New York Junior Olympic Cross Country Championship and placed 10th in the 4K at the national competition. That year she also earned the USATF New York Youth Cross Country Athlete of the Year award — still as a self-trained runner.

Even with her success, Coats knew she needed to elevate her training and compete in more races. She contacted John Padula, the track coach at Susan E. Wagner High School in Staten Island, New York, and asked to compete with the team.

Once he saw her potential, Padula said yes.

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“She was just such a grinder,” Padula said. “She just ran so hard from the gun to the finish.”

But Coats only made it to two practices under Padula’s tutelage.

Wagner’s team already started practice when Coats’ school day ended, and the long trek to Staten Island became unrealistic. Coats continued to complete the team’s workouts at her park in Brooklyn in addition to her own training strategies.

“I think running by yourself develops a mental aspect,” Coats said.

Coats dominated her sophomore year with an undefeated cross country regular season. Padula realized Coats’ talents exceeded Wagner’s and that finding a running community was the next step in her growth and directed her to the Prospect Park Youth Running Club, a Brooklyn group closer to her home.

“You need to be with a team to really develop,” Padula said. “That joint suffering really makes you so much better as an athlete.”

Coats competed at the club for the rest of her high school career and continued to dominate. She won the Youth Cross Country Athlete of the Year award for a second time in 2021.

While Coats’ time at Wagner was limited, it was also when she connected with now-Maryland senior Katie Altieri, who influenced Coats to consider the Terps.

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Now in her second year at Maryland, Coats is having a breakout season. She earned her first career win at the Salisbury Fall Classic with a personal best 6k time of 20:22.3, which got her the Big Ten Runner of the Week title.

“It was surprising for me, for sure, but it was definitely really fun,” Coats said.

Maryland coach Andrew Valmon said he is confident in the training Coats and the rest of the team put in this season, especially with their mental strides in supporting one another.

While Coats’ talent has been undeniable, her time with Maryland improved her running mentality. When she struggled in runs during her first year, she leaned on older runners to guide her through the race — in her second season, Coats hopes to lead the freshmen.

Valmon believes the improvement stems from successful running.

“Anytime you can lead by example by running up front, I think it gives the other athletes more confidence,” Valmon said. “Seeing one of your teammates in that successful position gives them inspiration and drive.”

Coats’ favorite part of her week remains the Sunday long run because of the social time with her teammates, but she still goes on solo runs. She’ll run around the canal and the bike trails around campus because, unlike Prospect Park’s three-mile loop, she can go on “forever.”

“Running by myself can sometimes be a little hard, I definitely think it makes racing when I have other people around me so much easier and so much better,” Coats said. “It was an interesting process, but I’m very happy where I ended up.”