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1-on-1 with Caroline Mullen-Kearney
Caroline Mullen-Kearney, Western Michigan (Women's Track and Field and Cross Country)
Caroline Mullen-Kearney competed in both women’s track and field and cross country at Western Michigan from 1986 to 1990 and she was named an All-American in both track & field in 1987 and cross country in 1986. Mullen-Kearney graduated from Western Michigan in 1990 with a degree in social work. She was named Western Michigan’s top female Senior Scholarship Athlete in 1987 and 1990 and was named to the All-MAC Academic Teams in 1988 and 1990.
Mullen-Kearney placed third (17:09) at the 1986 NCAA Cross Country Championships and fourth in the 5,000 meter (15:56.30) at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She also took fourth at the 1987 NCAA Outdoor Championships, posting the fastest time ever by a MAC runner.
Mullen-Kearney won Conference Championships in the 3,000 meter (1987) and 5,000 meter (1987, 1989) and is the only Western Michigan female to have captured three MAC Cross Country titles. She was the 1987 Penn Relays 5,000 meter champion and holds the school indoor records in the 3,000 meter (9:26.35) and two-mile (10:13.20). She holds the schools outdoor records in the 1,500 meter (4:24.06), 3,000 meter (9:20.39) and 5,000 meter (15:56.30). Her 5,000 meter outdoor time is also a MAC record.
She also placed eighth at the USA National Cross Country Championships in November of 1986. Mullen-Kearney traveled back to Ireland and placed second in the Irish National Cross Country Championships in February of 1987 and subsequently competed for Ireland in the World Cross Country Championships in Warsaw, Poland in March of 1987.
After graduating in 1990, Mullen-Kearney spent one summer in Interlochen International Music camp as a counselor. She spent one year in England as a residential care nurse for adults with physical and mental disabilities. She returned to Ireland and attended Maynooth College in Kildare, Ireland to receive an H. Dip in community work and youth work.
She worked for Dell Computers in Dublin in the telesales department, where she received qualification in computer and office tech. Since 1995, Mullen-Kearney has worked as a clerical officer in the National Rehabilitation Board (NRB), a semi-state body that assists helping people with various disabilities to get back into part-time rehabilitative employment. She was also receiving qualification in physical therapy and sports injuries and planned on setting up her own clinic in 2001.
Mullen-Kearney has competed in over 15 events since competing in college, including four first-place finishes. She placed first in Co. Westmeath Championships in 1995 and 1997. She also represented Ireland at the 1996 Aidken Road Relays, a top international event in Seoul, South Korea and helped her team place fifth.
Mullen-Kearney and her husband, John, have four children, sons Cian (1996) and Ciaran (2007), and daughters Aisling (1999) and Aoife (2009). The family resides in Cork, Ireland.
