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She arrives early and stays late. Those are just two pre-requisites for success on the academic and athletic charts that have been positioning the progress of Kristen McLoughlin throughout her four years at North Attleboro High School.

But, it has been what McLoughlin has done in between, that has enabled the Rocketeer to be the leading point scorer on both the indoor and outdoor track teams over the past two years, why the senior is ranked No. 10 academically in her class and why she serves as president for the National Honor Society.

"It's kind of been no guts, no glory," offered McLoughlin over the weekend, in between two of the most memorable events of her life - the senior prom on Saturday night and today's battle of the unbeatens for Hockomock League supremacy, the Hornets of Mansfield at North Attleboro, where the track surface at Beaupre Field will be named in honor of one of the mentors and major influences

upon her life, veteran North track and cross country coach Dwight Estey.

McLoughlin hasn't lost a race into which she was entered, be it the 100, 200 or 400 this spring. Ditto for the long jump and triple jump. She has produced 120 points for the Rocketeers thus far (17 more than all of the 2007 outdoor season) and along the way, she has climbed into the top 10 on North's career-best charts in five events - the 100 (No. 9 at 12.6 seconds), the 200 (No. 3 at 25.8 seconds), the 400 (No. 3 at 59.1 seconds), the long jump (No. 8 at 16-10) and the triple jump (No. 8 at 33-6).

All this coming off of an indoor season in which she rewrote her own 300 meter record (41.69) and anchored the MIAA State Meet championship 4x100 relay team.

Not bad for a gal who had fitted her feet with soccer shoes since she was five years old and whose running meant chasing older sister (and former NAHS soccer star, now a UMass-Amherst sophomore) Kelly.

While McLoughlin has been chasing a soccer ball at the varsity level as a Rocketeer for all four of her years on Landry Avenue, it was at the urging of North girls' soccer coach Geoff Burgess that she try track, to build her endurance and stamina.

McLoughlin had played basketball and softball as a Rocketeer rookie, but became a convert to track, first under the watchful eye of Estey, then current head coach Jason Feid, and now has furthered her finesse as a flash under the tutelage of assistant (and former North and UConn tracksters) Latif Thomas.

"Playing soccer, that's how I made friends," said McLoughlin. "Then Coach Burgess told me that in order to get faster, I should run track and it's a good way to stay in shape."

McLoughlin has done more than lace up her spikes and run. In truth, some of the mental toughness and physical traits developed on soccer fields has nurtured her success as a track-athlete. "Track can be so intimidating, it's such an individual sport," she added, noting the awe she felt that very first time that she stepped off the bus into the Reggie Lewis Center.

"With track, you don't have to be just fast or jump the farthest, you have to be tough mentally. If you don't have what it takes, you'll feel the pain."

That willingness to extend herself, through the day, through practice, is what separates McLoughlin from first to third place, from being an example, role model and spokesperson for the program to just a team member.

"She is an endless worker," said Feid. "Her raw speed helps her with everything. Now, she's strong and she has good endurance because of soccer. Even with her jumps, she's so strong and so fast. She's made big strides this year, being a senior, being stronger. She's now just showing up and running and jumping - she's the whole package." In truth, McLoughlin has been tinkering with everything that she has learned about running and jumping having come under the watchful gaze of Thomas. "It's a whole new focus," explained McLoughlin of the training and strategy.

"In practice we run full speed more often, as Mr. Thomas says, 'you can't get faster by running slow!' It's not just me, it's everyone on the team who has been taking lifetime personal bests. I thought that I was too slow to run the 50 or the 100, but in a few weeks I had PR's.

"Even the jumps, it's all the different components - like on my penultimate step, the last step, and like landing on my butt, to get better extension. It's not re-learning, but learning different things to incorporate. I have so much more to learn- it's so exciting."

The 5-foot-5 McLoughlin was sort of a natural at the jumps, clearing 15-feet on the long jump as a sophomore. "I had the natural ability, I was lucky," said McLoughlin. "It's now that I'm having trouble - I'm putting the real stuff together. It was like, you thought you knew how to do it. But there's so much more."

McLoughlin was overshadowed a bit in her soccer career by her elder sister and overshadowed earlier in her track career by Atinuke Akinyemi. One of her favorite stories from the winter track season came when after beating OA's reigning 400 champion Michelle Sirois by some five strides, the Tiger exclaimed "Where did she come from?"

Well, McLoughlin has always been there, accumulating five first-place finishes. She's also quite proud of being a key component of North's success indoors and outdoors, a member of the Rocketeer track family that will honor its tape-measurer and stop watch clicker, Estey.

"He's the main reason why the track program has been so successful, he put in the strict practices, what it means to be dedicated," said McLoughlin. "For me, I'm proud to be a part of the North Attleboro tradition and understand how important it is."

And if McLoughlin shows up early this afternoon, that's to be understood. She was even born five weeks prematurely.

PETER GOBIS may be contacted at 508-236-0375