Miana Caraballo has has one last epic juggling act ahead of her.
Learning to save lives, for her upcoming career as a nurse, while also running both cross country and track for a prominent Division 1 program like UMass Lowell is not for the faint of heart.
But the former Methuen High star isn’t about to give either of her passions less than 100 percent.
“Finding a balance between my running career and my nursing degree is a challenge,” said Caraballo. “Both definitely are highly demanding aspects of my life, and I only want to be able to put my best foot forward. Nursing is something that I’ve wanted to pursue since I was a little girl, and I love running. Running three seasons and juggling academics definitely makes me very aware of how demanding both are at the end of the day.”
While nursing is her future, she is ready for one more big year as an athlete, as a senior stalwart and key contributor for the River Hawks cross country and track teams.
“I’m feeling pretty confident going into my last year of cross country,” Caraballo said. “It’s bittersweet because it’s my last year, but I’m also excited to see what the next chapter of my life has in store for me. I’m grateful to be able to train and compete one last time with my favorite people.
“I’ve been putting in a lot of work and effort into my last ever summer training block and I’m hoping it all comes together and creates a foundation for what I can and will accomplish this last year. I’m excited to push my limits, accomplish a couple more personal records and hopefully get some more championship team rings.”
Overachieving is nothing new for Caraballo. As a senior at Methuen High in 2022, she broke Chris DiZoglio’s 40-year-old school records in the mile (5:07.54, 10th all-time in area) and the 2-mile (10:55.11, No. 6 all-time in area), earning Eagle-Tribune All-Star honors in indoor and outdoor track. She was also the Eagle-Tribune cross country MVP in 2020 and MVC Division 2 MVP as a senior.
She was then recruited to run for local college track power UMass Lowell, and has been a consistent contributor to the River Hawks ever since.
Top finishes in track included a sixth in the 5,000 (17:56.61) and eighth in the 3,000 (10:08.82) at the America East Track Championship, a victory in the 5,000 (18:09.56) at last spring’s Final Qualifier at MIT, a fifth in the 3,000 (10:26.67) at the 2025 UMass Lowell George Davis Invitational and a third in the 3,000 (9:58.32) at the Boston University Battle in Beantown.
In cross country, her two best performances have been at the UMass Dartmouth Cross Country Invitational 5K, taking sixth (18:15.6) and second (17:56.3) in back-to-back years.
Now she has big goals for her senior seasons.
“I would like to break 17 minutes in the 5K, break 5 minutes in the mile and run 9:30 in the 3K and low 21 minutes in the 6K,” he said. “As a team, I’d like us to win another cross country championship ring and hopefully another one during one of the track seasons.”
And as she dedicates her life to nursing, she won’t be leaving sports totally behind.
“I’m planning on pursing my master’s degree part-time directly after I graduate, while also working,” she said. “I’m hoping to start either in the ER or ICU or on a labor and delivery unit. But I definitely want to continue running some half and full marathons. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give up the love I have for this sport. It will always bring me a sense of joy. It’ll be something I can look forward to after a long day in the hospital.”
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