Starliper after Winning the HS Millrose Mile in 2020 - Photo by Steven Pisano
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"The mountains were calling," captioned Marlee Starliper as she set out to announce her commitment to transfer from NC State to Colorado on her Instagram account..
Starliper dominated the high school scene, winning several individual state titles with her former high school team, Northern York. She boasts one of the most impressive high school resumes for a Pennsylvania native in recent years. New Balance National Champion, Millrose Games Champion, 3x PIAA Champion, a three-time state record holder, and the second fastest XC 5k of all time - are just a few of the accolades she achieved.
Unfortunately, the 2020 prep grad's collegiate career started slow, and she didn't see competition until 2022 due to injury.
Yet, Starliper proved quickly that she has a healthy appetite for competition. In her one full season of competition, she posted All-American and All-ACC honors in the outdoor 5000m. She placed ninth at the 2022 NCAA Championships with a 15:36.51 over 5k.
This season she last competed at the Wake Forest Invitational on April 21st. There, she ran a 4:20.13 1500m.
Starliper will be a fantastic addition to a talented Colorado roster. Earlier this year, standout Natalie Cook also announced that she was transferring from Oklahoma State to Colorado.
"I entered the transfer portal looking for a location where I would enjoy where I run every day, have a team to train with, coaches who I could learn from and trust to keep me healthy with their training philosophies, and overall a place where I felt like I would belong," Starliper said in an autobiographical statement on FanHubTF.
The Pennsylvania Legend has a chance to reignite her career in higher altitudes at a school that has recently produced some of the best American Distance runners, including Emma Coburn.
