Julie Eckerly

2007: Finished 11th at the Belmont/Vanderbilt Opener, 11th at the Commodore Classic, 98th at the Chile Pepper Festival and 85th at the SEC Championship.

2006: Finished second for the Commodores at the Louisville Invite with a time of 18:50, second (22:11) on the team at the SEC Championships and third overall (18:55) at the Commodore Classic.

2005: One of team[apos]s most dependable runners, finishing among top four in every competition … Closed season with 19th overall place at NCAA Regionals, running 6K in 21:35.33 … Effort was second best on team … Was third best at SEC Championships, running 30th overall with 6K effort of 21:21.66 … Also ran third among Commodores at Pre-Nationals (22:00 6K) and Notre Dame Invitational (17:50 5K) … Finished third overall at Commodore Classic, running 5K distance in 18:31.26, helping Vanderbilt to team win … Opened season with 11th overall finish at Belmont Invitational (14:43 4K).

2004: Opened collegiate career with 16th overall finish at Belmont Invitational … Her 15:07.95 showing was fourth best on the team.

High School/Prep:

Earned four varsity letters … Served two years as team captain … Team placed third in the state her junior year, and sixth in the state and 11th at the Footlocker Regionals her senior year.

Personal:
Julia Kathleen Eckerly … Nicknames are ‘Stalk,’ ‘Celery,’ ‘Ju-Ju’ and ‘Jules’ … Born Sept. 25, 1985 … Parents are Edward and Vivian … Has four older siblings … Majoring in biology … Enjoys biking, hiking, traveling, triathlons, crossword puzzles and cooking … Brother trained with 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor before 2004 Olympic trials.

Off the Course with Julie:

My favorite athlete: Deena Kastor

Favorite class this semester: History of jazz music

My dream job: Physical therapist for professional athletes (especially runners and triathletes)

Item I brought to VU to remind me of home: Scented candles

Dream vacation: A week in Ireland back-packing and exploring my family history

Best concert I[apos]ve ever attended: Nickel Creek — the second to last concert on the ‘Farewell for Now’ tour at the Ryman Auditorium

Favorite restaurant: The Trojan Horse in Bloomington, Ind. and Boscos in Nashville

First job I had: Day camp counselor

Favorite ‘non-school’ related reading material: ‘Runner[apos]s World’ and ‘Women[apos]s Health’ magazines

My day can[apos]t start until: I eat a bowl of oatmeal.