Student-Athlete Spotlight: Olivia Sobkowicz
Image courtesy of Olivia Sobkowicz.
By Catalina Casarella
This past week, The Tower’s Griffin Cappiello sat down with first-year English and politics double major Olivia Sobkowicz to talk about life as a student-athlete here at CUA. Olivia is a cross-country and track runner who was named the 2025 Rookie Athlete of the Year, and placed second in the cross-country Landmark Conference Championships, one of only two freshmen who finished in the top ten and earned a spot on the First Team All-Conference.
When asked about her accomplishments this season, Sobkowicz was remarkably humble. She laughed at Cappiello’s praise of her very impressive resume and explained that while she always led her conference as a runner in high school, this was never something she expected.
“I’m hoping to qualify for nationals, which I never expected as a freshman,” Sobkowicz said when asked about her goals in both the short-term and the long-term. “Then I want to break school records.”
When asked why she wanted to come to Catholic, she emphasized the community of runners here: “I really wanted a team that was really close, kind of like a family — which is what we are — that’s what I had in high school.”
Like many student-athletes, a challenge as a first-year student that Sobkowicz is facing is making friends outside of the athletic community. She emphasized her love for her team: “My friends are my teammates.”
Friendships are clearly an essential part of running for Sobkowicz; when asked about a role model, she referenced a friend. “She’s a year younger than me, she’s like my best friend, we ran together, and she works so hard and she’s grown so much…we’re role models for each other we say.” She also gave a shout-out to her running partner, “She’s amazing…Laurel [McMahon], I love running with her. We do everything together.”
The interview then turned to the daily life of a student-athlete. Sobkowicz’s days start at 5 in the morning, some days, an experience with which many student-athletes are familiar. From morning workouts to classes to evening practice, her days revolve around the miles she runs. On average, she says she runs about 65 miles a week, with the fewest in a week being 59 miles.
As a double major and three-season athlete, she doesn’t have much time for activities outside of running, but she is happy with the life of a runner on campus. Beyond being a runner, Sobkowicz has been a competitive figure skater since she was 4 years old. She has a love for reading and writing, which led her to study English (and occasionally contribute articles for The Tower!)
Sobkowicz is running all year long; even as the cross country season begins to wind down, the track season begins. Her enthusiasm is clear; she is thrilled to be a runner and is deeply committed to her sport. Her accomplishments are beyond impressive, particularly because she is only a freshman, and she is certainly an athlete to watch as she grows in her four years here at CUA.
