In the latest edition of the class of 2017 college signings Lake Zurich senior Matthew Pereira commits to Harvard University
Matt Pereira's quick word on his college selection:
Tell us about how hard the selection was to pick the right school. Why did you select Harvard University?
It was definitely a difficult decision to find the school that best balanced academics and athletics for me. I spent awhile deliberating how much I valued each and eventually decided that Harvard would be the best option as I could take running seriously while getting the education I was looking for. I'm very excited to be part of a program that I think is going to be competitive within its conference and hopefully in the nation in upcoming years.
What are your career goals? Running goals in college?
My career goals are right now the same as my college goals since I like to take things one step at a time. The only thing that I'd like to do at some point in my running career as a whole is to break the 4 min mile barrier, since it's something that I like many runners have dreamed about since I was younger. In college I hope to be an All-American in cross country and track and be a part of a conference championship and national qualifying cross country team, whether once or multiple times. I can't speak much for track times as I don't know what distances I'll be running, but I'd definitely aim to be at least sub-14 in the 5k to accomplish the above goals.
What are your goals this season?
My only goal this season is to win a state championship in some event, whatever gives me or my teammates the best shot, whether that be the 4x800, 3200 or mile. In terms of times I'm aiming for 8:55 in the 3200 and 4:10 in the mile right now, but I'm less focused on times than on winning a state title.
