As the fall semester comes to a close and many students are off celebrating the end of finals week, BU runner Katie Radzik dons fresh Under Armour and prepares, once again, to climb Holly Hill.

“There’s no real off-season for a runner,” Radzik said.

The freshman phenom broke into the running scene at Binghamton earlier this year with a pair of cross-country victories to start off her collegiate career, beating fields of 29 and 75, respectively.

“It was overwhelming and unexpected, but at the same time it felt really great,” Radzik said.

Those efforts earned her America East Athlete of the Week honors after being at the University a little over a week. She recognizes the close bond between all the girls on the team as a key to her success both as a runner, and in making the adjustment to life as a scholar athlete.

“Katie is like the Energizer Bunny,” freshman teammate Kaitlyn DiPietro said. “She just keeps going and going.”

And there seems to be no stopping her.

Radzik went on to lead her women’s cross-country team in every race during the fall season, breaking several records along the way.

At the America East Championship in October, Radzik ran her way to a third overall finish, turning in the best performance for any Binghamton runner at the meet since the school joined the conference in 2001.

“I knew she had a lot of talent, so I had a feeling she would do well,” said head coach Annette Acuff. “I thought she might be able to break top 10 in the conference, but placing third and earning region honors — that was outstanding for her.”

Radzik didn’t get serious about running until her junior year of high school, and didn’t focus exclusively on distance until she was a senior. She trained hard during the summer in between, and would go on to earn a fifth-place finish in the New York State Class B Meet in her senior year.

That same dedication to her sport can be seen today. An average run for the Mt. Sinai, N.Y., native lasts about an hour, while the longer runs can last 80 minutes. Radzik’s teammates tease that she has never missed a training session.

“Katie is usually about half a mile ahead of us before she comes back to motivate us,” said freshman teammate Kate Reilly.

But through the success, Radzik remains humble. When teammates point out, for instance, that she finished third at the AE Championship, she is quick to point out that the team placed fourth.

So what’s next for Radzik? In the immediate future there is winter track, where she will be competing in both the 3,000- and 5,000-meter events. Down the road, Acuff believes that minor improvements each year might be able to earn Radzik a top-10 finish in the region.

“Katie is tremendously talented and successful,” Acuff said. “She is the best athlete I have had in my last five and a half years at Binghamton.”