St. Paul HOF: Monica (Roth) Nash was a trailblazing runner

Editor's note: This is the seventh of eight profiles on the upcoming St. Paul Hall of Fame Class of 2021 inductees. NORWALK — By her own admission, Monica (Roth) Nash was uncoordinated and had to be forced into going out for the cross country team. And yet 32 years after high school, the 1989 St. Paul graduate is still recognized as one of the most accomplished runners in school history. Nash will be an athletic inductee into the St. Paul Hall of Fame this weekend (Oct. 2-3). Needless to say, it was a unique path for Nash, who first ran junior high cross country at Norwalk before transferring to St. Paul for high school. "I'm very uncoordinated and running was something you didn't need much coordination for — and that was pretty much why," Nash said when asked how she ended up a distance runner. "I couldn't play volleyball and wasn't really into basketball, so it was cross country that had my interest." It was actually one of her sisters, Anne (Roth) DeWitt, who pushed Monica at a young age. "She forced me to do it, which is funny because she didn't even run," Nash said. "And after a couple years of junior high cross country at Norwalk I transferred to St. Paul and I almost quit." Nash said she didn't know very many people, but it was her cousin, Jennifer Roth, who was there to make the save this time. "Had it not been for her I probably wouldn't have finished my first day of my freshman year running," Nash said. Despite being timid about the move, one thing was clear from the beginning to Nash. She could compete with anyone. "When I came upon a couple of juniors on the team that first year in a race, I thought, 'OK, if I can go around them, then what?'" She said, "They were my own teammates, but I just thought it was what I had to do, so I passed them. And from then on I kind of told myself, 'OK, maybe I'm pretty good at this.'" That's one way of putting it. As a freshman in 1985, Nash not only qualified for the Class A state championships at Scioto Downs in Columbus, but she earned a top 20 finish in 19th place with a time of 20:43 as St. Paul took its entire starting lineup down to the event and finished eighth. Then she went back in 1986 with several of her teammates once again and turned in a time of 19:38 at the state meet. That earned her seventh overall and All-Ohio honors — a placement that is still the highest in girls program history at St. Paul. That helped the Lady Flyers finish fifth as a team at state. Nash also turned in a time of 19:32, her career best, in the 1986 season. As a junior in 1987, Nash again returned to state and placed 23rd in 20:28. All told, Nash was a member of the first St. Paul girls cross country teams to win the Firelands Conference and make the state championships in 1985 and 1986. She was a four-year letterwinner in both cross country and track and field. In the spring, Nash was also a four-time regional qualifier and won the FC in the 1600-meter run in 1989. "I think my improvement was just the natural progress from each year," Nash said. "I think just from the beginning of starting high school I felt like it was something I could do. Things were so much different for me then as opposed to now, and I had two really good coaches in Jeff Colvin and Jerry Rospert." Though long removed from her running days, Nash is still close to the sport and the St. Paul program as an assistant cross country coach. That meant Nash was the link between the FC title teams in the girls program when she ran, and again in 2018 when they won it. Then last season, the boys won the FC championships for the first time ever, making Nash a member of the only four conference championship teams in boys or girls cross country history at St. Paul. "I really just enjoy going and helping and being a part of something I'm familiar with," Nash said. "When my youngest (Charlie) left for college, it was rough with no one to have home and do things with, and helping coach kind of helped with that a little bit. "I felt like I was part of something and it helped me personally to go back and coach and be part of a team again." Nash and her husband, Pat, have been married for 30 years. They have three sons, Lucas, Nathan and Charles.