OKLAHOMA CITY (May 15, 2020) – Rylee Rich of Marlow was drawn to Oklahoma Christian for numerous reasons. Religion was a big factor, as she grew up in the church of Christ, but a primary reason was just as personal – getting the opportunity to run collegiately with her older sister Maci.
 
"We have been running our entire lives together so getting to do it one last time in college was amazing," said Rylee Rich, a cross country and middle-distance track runner who just finished her senior season at OC. "It really made the transition easier as well. She kind of took me under her wing and made me feel really comfortable."
 
As for Maci – who's about three years older – the experience of taking her sister under her wing and helping her transition from high school to college will be something she will forever cherish.
 
"This experience was amazing," said Maci, who now is married and goes by Maci Bourke. "Especially being my last year and her first year I felt that I got to show her the ropes and really make that transition easier for her; I loved having her as a teammate."
 
The competitiveness in college was there, although it was much greater when they ran together back home in southwestern Oklahoma.
 
"The rivalry was a lot worse in high school and throughout our childhood," Bourke said. "I don't know why that is. Maybe because when she got to college, I felt more like a mentor and a comforter for her. But when we raced together in high school, we would be throwing elbows at each other. But there was none of that in college."
 
OC cross country and track coach Wade Miller liked to watch the sisters feed off one another in practice and competition, as well as witness Maci help Rylee transition into a new stage of life.
 
"I think they both benefited from that experience," Miller said. "Maci was really able to help Rylee with the adjustment process from high school to college. They were also able to train together over the summers, so I think Rylee was a little more prepared for her freshman year of college than if she hadn't had her sister with her."
 
Family vacations are always fun, but being able to also travel with your sister – as well as your best friends – to meets and races is a unique opportunity not a lot of people get to experience.
 
"They always had us room together, obviously, so that was a lot of fun," Bourke said. "I think it was also great for our parents too, because now they got to come and see both of us race as opposed to just me or her, so that was also a great experience for them."
 
Rylee's time at Oklahoma Christian was full of unique experiences. Student-athletes rarely get to share a team with their sibling. Student-athletes also rarely get the chance to study abroad, but Rylee did. During the 2018 fall semester, she traveled with an OC group to Vienna, Austria, for a trip of a lifetime.
 
"I was nervous at first because I thought I was going to lose my scholarship," she said. "But my coach is awesome, and he let me do that and then get my scholarship back whenever I returned. My favorite memory of college by far was studying abroad."
 
When she came to OC, she knew she wanted to study abroad, but being a student-athlete who competed in sports that spanned both the fall and spring semesters, she didn't think it would be possible. Luckily, she was able to establish some contingencies with her coach that enabled her to achieve that dream and study abroad.
 
"Coach Miller and I set in place my training schedule for when I was over there," Rich said. "So, in total I was out from competition for nine months. Coach Miller and I set in place goal times that I would have to meet whenever I returned in order to get my scholarship back and retain my spot on the team. It certainly wasn't easy, but I accomplished it. I don't think I would have changed anything about that experience either."
 
Rich did many things that not many student-athletes ever get the chance to do. Her unique college experience made for the time of her life and she was able to make memories that will stick with her forever.