Garrahan wasted no time proving herself on the trails and tracks of Amherst and the NESCAC in her rookie 2003-04 campaign. At the cross country team's season-opening Amherst Invitational in 2003, Garrahan finished third for Amherst and fourth overall as the Jeffs won by a landslide. By the end of the season she was the NESCAC Champion, NESCAC Rookie of the Year and an All-American. She achieved similar levels of success during the indoor and outdoor track seasons, setting two school records during the indoor season and three more outdoors while earning All-American honors in both seasons. After winning the 1500m race at the NESCAC Outdoor Championship, she earned Rookie of the Year honors once again.
It's hard to believe, then, that Garrahan is relatively new to the sport of running. She played a variety of sports in high school, including soccer and tennis, before her friends convinced her to try indoor track her junior year.
"Since I had always enjoyed the running aspect of sports-I think I was the only person on my teams who actually enjoyed having to run extra laps and do sprints-I decided to give [running competitively] a try," said Garrahan. "After my first race, I completely fell in love with the sport. My senior year I decided to give up playing tennis and soccer for my school so that I could commit to running all three seasons."
Success came quickly to Garrahan. She placed 14th in Virginia in cross country and fourth in the 1600m race in indoor and outdoor track as a senior. "The highlight of my high school running was when I placed second in the 2000m steeplechase at the Adidas Outdoor Championships, a national high school meet, which was the first time I ever ran the event," said Garrahan.
Applying early decision to Amherst was an easy choice for Garrahan, who was attracted to the College for the same reasons as most students: "outstanding academic reputation, small class sizes, social opportunities and beautiful location. At the time, it was simply another 'plus' that being a Div. III school I'd be able to run in college," she said.
Amherst has continued to reap the benefits of the Virginia native's choice this fall. Garrahan has held tight to the number-two spot on the women's cross country team, ranked fifth nationally. She finishes right behind senior co-captain Carter Hamill, and, when Hamill was out with an injury, she led the team's times.
"Shauneen is one of the most dedicated and hard-working people I know," said Hamill. "Every single workout is a clear example of her giving her greatest effort, both mental and physical. She's a great role model for myself and the rest of the team."
Erik Nedeau, the head coach of the track and cross country teams, agrees that Garrahan is not one to rest on her laurels. When she does not perform at a level that meets her expectations-to always exceed her previous times-she reacts constructively.
"She will look for answers to why [she raced poorly]," said Nedeau. "She will talk with me and figure out exactly what went wrong, and why it did so, and talk about what we need to do so that it does not happen again." Nedeau referred to Garrahan's "fierce competitiveness" and "never settle-for-anything-less-than-her-best" attitude as two traits that have helped her achieve greatness at Amherst.
What makes the sophomore a unique athlete in addition to her attitude is her versatility in competition. "She has a rare combination of speed and strength and can race extremely well in any event that she does," said Nedeau.
Her five school records come in a variety of events: the 1000m and mile indoors, and the 1500m, 800m and 3k steeplechase outdoors. She was also a member of the indoor distance medley relay team that placed second at Nationals last winter.
Garrahan is more than willing "to do whatever it takes to help the team-be it doing multiple events, relays on short rest or even running relay legs that are not what she has been training for," said Nedeau.
Garrahan similarly has only good things to say about her running experience at Amherst. "Ned [Nedeau] stands out as a truly amazing coach. I completely trust in his training methods and he is developing me into a better runner than I ever could have imagined," she said. "I like how the Amherst cross country and track program focuses on working hard to reach your best potential without having to eat, sleep and breathe running 24/7."
Added Garrahan, "I definitely feel fortunate and couldn't have asked for better teammates."
Garrahan's teammates feel similarly lucky to compete alongside her. "It's going to be exciting to follow her next couple of years here, as she is bound to accomplish some pretty great things on the national level," said Hamill. Coming from Hamill, high praise indeed.