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Pride runner signs to Utah Tech
Maci Day signing
Maci Day poses with her family after signing her letter of intent to continue her running and academic career at Utah Tech University (CHRISTOPHER CORREA/The Journal).

Maci Day, star cross country and track runner at Pitman High, signed her letter of intent on Thursday to continue her athletic and academic career at Utah Tech University. Day has been one of the most dominant runners during her tenure with the Pride, and took time to show her appreciation to her loved ones during her signing ceremony.

“I just want to say thank you to my team for helping me every day at practice, and my coaches for how much you guys put in, and to my parents for always supporting me. It’s truly an amazing experience for me,” she said.

Day’s career accomplishments include being the 2020 Stanislaus County cross country champion, the 2021 Stanislaus County track 3200 meter champion, an undefeated CCAL cross country champion in 2022, as well as being a member of the 2022 CCAL cross country team title-winning team, the first in Pride history. She was named a member of the All-Stanislaus County cross country team in each of her four years at Pitman from the 2019 to the 2022 season and is a two-time member of the All-Stanislaus County track team.

Tim McCabe serves as head coach for the Pride cross country team and has known Day since her freshman year. He spoke about the impact she has had on the program during her four years.

“Since the day she stepped onto the Pitman campus, Maci began contributing,” McCabe said. “We’ve had a lot of great athletes come through, but it was her qualities as a teammate that set her apart, because you can be a great athlete and that doesn’t mean you can be a great teammate or leader, but Maci is the whole package… Knowing who Maci is, it’s no surprise that she’ll continue with excellence. Everything she touches turns to gold. As coaches, we hate to see the kids who touch our lives leave and start all over again…. It’s hard to say goodbye, but she’s going on to do amazing things.”

Mikayla Perry is a first-year cross country coach  at Pitman and shared similar sentiments, stressing how pivotal Day’s role was in helping their team go undefeated to clinch their first ever league title this past season.

“This is my first season coaching, and it was a privilege to have Maci lead us this season to our first ever CCAL championship in school history. I’m beyond proud of her to continue her career, and I just know that she’s going to do great things,” Perry said.

Pitman head track coach David Jigour added that Day continued to participate in drills even just hours before her signing, a testament to her work ethic.

“Maci is just amazing, doing everything without complaining and going above and beyond. Even on her signing day, she was out there leading today, helping us out there and making sure everything was going smoothly. It really is such a privilege to be able to work with her,” Jigour said.

At Utah Tech, she will compete in both track and cross country while studying Business Administration. Jigour mentioned that, although she is already planning for her future, they have unfinished business as the track season officially gets underway in the coming weeks.

“We still have one last season of track, so I’ll be sure to cherish every moment with her,” he said. “And we’ll be sure we finish with a bang.”