Jillian Candelino, a senior at The Bolles School, has been named the 2022-2023 ITG Next Northeast Florida Female Cross Country Runner of the Year.
Born and raised in Jacksonville, Candelino started attending The Bolles School in kindergarten. Growing up in a sports-oriented family, she became involved in sports at a very young age. In elementary school she got involved in competitive cheer. As she grew older, she realized that wasn’t the sport for her. Her parents were adamant about her being involved in a extracurricular activity, and Candelino had a friend who was involved in cross country, so she decided to give distance running a try.
“I really loved sprinting,” Candelino said. “In elementary school we’d do the 50-yard dash once a year, and I loved doing that. So I started doing cross country to prepare for track season, and then I ended up being good at cross country.”
Although cross country has brought Candelino so much success, it hasn’t always been her passion. It wasn’t until 2020, when the pandemic hit, that running was the only thing she had to look forward to.
“It was a love-hate relationship at first,” she recalled. “I didn’t really enjoy running. I was doing it because my friend was doing it. I wanted to do sprinting, so I kind of got pulled into this world of distance. I was kind of hesitant because I wasn’t in love with it. Over the years I’ve really learned to love the sport.”
Her love for cross country has proved beneficial for not only herself, but her team as well. This year, the Bulldogs won the state championship for the second year in a row. Candelino won her second consecutive individual state title this season. She also broke the record in the 32 during track season, and she broke the school record in the 5K. She won the overall state girls Runner of the Year Award at the 2022-23 Florida Dairy Farmers Sports Awards. She was also the first North Florida area runner to be named “Miss Cross Country” since 2001.
“I love my team so much and I really love working with them,” she said. “They motivate me to do everything that I do.”
Although cross country is now her passion, her education is just as important, so finding a balance is key.
“You really need to have time management skills,” Candelino said. “It helps that our cross-country practices are in the morning, so I’ll have the whole afternoon to do schoolwork. Sometimes I do find myself at a time crunch, because I go to bed early to get up for practice the next day. So time management is key.”
Candelino’s high school career is coming to an end, but her future is just beginning. Candelino will be attending and running at the University of Tennessee.
“Last year I started getting colleges reaching out to me,” she said. “When Tennessee followed me, I remember being so excited and I can’t really put my finger on it, but I feel like I knew. I got this weird feeling when Tennessee followed me. During the summer the coaching staff at Tennessee got fired and I was sad because I liked Tennessee. When the new coaches got hired, they reached out to me and when we were talking on the phone, they were so convincing. And when I visited, I knew.”
Congratulations to The Bolles School’s Jillian Candelino, the 2022-2023 ITG Next Northeast Florida Female Cross Country Runner of the Year.
