At the start of his senior year, track athlete Emmanuel “Manny” Roache received his Division 3 offer to compete for Illinois Wesleyan University as a sprinter. After he toured the campus twice, he knew he couldn’t pass the offer up.

“Getting recruited was easy, but it was also tiring at times,” said Roache. “You’re applying to all these schools, hoping to get into some more than others. The emails are a lot too.”

He recalls how his inbox would be filled with responses, automated and not, from coaches he reached out to on the NCAA recruiting website. Having to respond to each of them uniquely was tedious, yet rewarding after his response from Wesleyan. The interest he received from coaches around the nation was the most encouraging part for him.

Within the team, Roache is passionate about the perseverance aspect of track. His sophomore year was the start of his track career after playing basketball his freshman year. Being a new member of the track team came with pressure, and it took some time for him to find his motivation, the events he enjoyed, and to keep going with sports altogether. 

“I was down in the dumps for a little while; sometimes I thought about quitting. It’s a mental thing more than anything, and you just have to keep pushing through it,” Roache stated. 

In his eyes, sticking with track was one of the best decisions he had made, especially because he would be accompanied by long-term friend and teammate Jordan Harvey, who would be attending Illinois Wesleyan on a Division 3 offer as well. 

“I have known Jordan since kindergarten; we’ve been friends all these years, and we remain teammates as well,” Roache recalled. “It’s big, and I can’t wait to see where this takes us.”

Currently, Roache is leaning toward the field of engineering, but is undecided on what he will be studying at Wesleyan.