— The recruiting letters from colleges have been piling up in Keely Maguire’s mailbox for years.
And the names of the senders are starting to read like a list of the nation’s most prestigious cross country programs.
LSU, Florida, Duke, Tennessee, Purdue.
But those powerhouses can saves themselves the cost of a stamp moving forward.
The area’s top cross country and track talent, Triton’s Keely Maguire, has made an oral commitment to attend University of New Hampshire on a full athletic scholarship. She will sign a National Letter of Intent on the earliest allotted date by the NCAA — Nov. 1.
“I always felt like I wanted to go to one of those big schools with a prestigious program,” Maguire said. “But those schools didn’t fit me and my personality. I knew it wouldn’t be the best place for me, and college is really for the experience.”
Maguire, a Georgetown resident, is a two-time EMass. Division 3 and Cape Ann League champion in cross country. She began competing on a national stage last fall, finishing fourth out of 85 runners at the Brown Invitational at Rhode Island. She also placed 22nd at the Northeast Foot Locker Regional 5K in New York City despite being diagnosed with strep throat.
“She is, by far, the most gifted high school athlete I’ve seen in any sport,” Triton cross country coach Joe Colbert said. “I’m a big follower of high school sports, so obviously she’s incredibly gifted. And she doesn’t rest on her talent. She has the work ethic, too.”
Maguire transferred to Triton from Georgetown after her freshman year and began training with Lynx Elite Running Club in Haverhill. She ran cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track as a sophomore but bypassed the indoor season last winter to train for Nationals.
Her goal this season is to place in the top 10 at the Northeast Regional and advance to the Foot Locker National Championships Dec. 8 in San Diego.
“That’s what I’m trying to do, and I think I could’ve done it last year if I didn’t get sick,” Maguire said.
Maguire visited Boston University, URI, Providence College, UVM, LaSalle and Villanova before making her decision to attend UNH. She visited the school on an official recruiting trip last week.
“Staying close to home wasn’t that important to me,” Maguire said. “I felt the most comfortable there. I’d been confused as to what I want to do in college, and I found a program I really like.”
She will enter UNH’s School of Health and Human Services as an undeclared major, and she have an immediate impact on a cross country team that placed second in the America East Conference last fall. Over the last 12 years, UNH has finished no lower than third in the conference.
Due to an NCAA rule that states, “a member institution may comment publicly only to the extent of confirming its recruitment of the prospective student-athlete” until the National Letter of Intent is signed, UNH coach Rob Hoppler could say only, “The University of New Hampshire is recruiting Keely Maguire.”
One thing that is almost certain to change in college: Maguire will no longer have to run with the boys to find equal competition.
“We’ve made many accommodations for Keely because she’s so talented,” Colbert said. “She’s really trained with the boys until this year, and now none of the them can stay with her. Nobody resents her for it. She’s going to a high level beyond high school, and everybody is proud to be a part of it.”

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