On February 14th, Nicole Tully will toe the line of the 108th NYRR Millrose Games NYRR Wanamaker Mile at The Armory. She’ll go up against a deeply talented field including Nike Oregon Project stars, Mary Cain and Jordan Hasay as well as 1500m World Championship bronze medalist, Shannon Rowbury.
Though the competition will be stiff, Tully’s extensive experience from competing at The Armory and Millrose Games will surely give her an advantage.
Her first Armory experiences came while competing at the University of Villanova, where she earned All-American honors three times. Her first Millrose Games experience was as good as it gets, as she anchored an NYAC team to victory in the 2012 Club Championship Distance Medley Relay.
At last year’s Millrose Games Tully came off of a foot injury to shave 11 seconds off of her personal best 3,000m time, taking 8th place in 9:00.84.
“The Armory has a home court advantage feel for me,” said Tully. “Because I’m so comfortable racing at The Armory, I feel like it’s a good place to showcase the fitness level that I’m in now and just get it done.”
Another advantage for Tully will be her cheering section from NYAC and NJ-NYTC club and teammates. But cheering loudest of all will surely be her parents Jane and Ken Schappert, especially her father, who is also a Villanova alumni and competed for the NYAC at several past Millrose Games.
“My dad’s from New York, so Millrose Games has been a big name in our house for a very long time,” said Tully. “My parents love coming to the Games and it’s something that I’ve developed such a respect for.”
