GRACE DWYER COOK
- Apr 30
- 2 min read
Updated: May 18
Nottingham High School 2016 -- Distance
To summarize the scholastic running legacy of Grace Dwyer Cook in a few paragraphs is an invitation to understatement. Put bluntly, she was the greatest distance runner Nottingham High ever produced and won so many individual county, sectional and state titles that the school may not see her like again.
The first Nottingham runner to qualify for what was then the Nike Cross Country Nationals (in 2013 in Portland, Ore.), Grace was among New Jersey’s most
consistent distance runners in the decade of her graduation: the 2015 Group III and Meet of Champions winner in the 3200 outdoors; the Group III 3200 champ indoors. In all, she won an astounding 17 sectional titles in the 800, 1600, 3200, 4x800 and cross country, as well as 12 Mercer County crowns.
Despite all that individual success, her favorite high school moment was helping the Northstars win their division in spring track her senior year.
But high school was only the beginning for Grace Dwyer Cook.
She built on that phenomenal resume by excelling on the Division I collegiate level, helping Furman reach the NCAA Cross Country Nationals three times, including a seventh-place finish in 2017.
Individually, she starred in two different conferences, winning the 2019 Southern Conference 10,000 while taking third in 2022 Atlantic Sun Conference final at the same distance. In all she earned 10 all-conference berths (seven All Southern Conference and three All Atlantic Sun Conference) and complemented her track achievements by reaching the academic honor roll and all-academic teams six times in her respective conferences.
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MAJOR TITLES
Meet of Champions Winner - Outdoor 3200M 2015
2X Group III State Champion - Indoor & Outdoor 2015
17x CJ Sectional Champion - Cross Country (3) 2012-'14 - Indoor 1600M (3) 2013-'15, 3200M (3) 2013-'15 - Outdoor 800M (1) 2015, 1600M (3) 2013-'15, 3200M (4) 2013-'16
12x Mercer County Champion - Cross Country (3) 2012-'14, - Indoor 1600M (1) 2014, 3200M (2) 2014-'15, - Outdoor 1600M (2) 2013-'14, 3200M (4) 2013-'16
