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California Institute of Technology

2026 Caltech Cross Country Roster

Rachel Rakower

  • Height 5-6
  • Year First-Year
  • Hometown Scarsdale, N.Y.
  • High School Scarsdale High School
  • Major Bioengineering

Biography

Research and STEM Activities
Shadowed at the Kaplan Lab at the NIH studying immune engineering... Conducted research at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals focused on siRNA delivery... Worked in a molecular profiling lab at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals focused on optimizing library preparation for mRNA sequencing... Hosted a 10-week bioengineering course on schoolhouse.world.  

Prior to Caltech
Academic Honors: Scarsdale High School Science Department Faculty Award... AP Scholar with Distinction... 2nd Place at Regeneron WESEF in Biochemistry... Signifer (Scarsdale High School Honors Society) Member 

Athletic Honors: 4x Team Captain... 7x school record holder... NYS Cross Country Championships Qualifier 2023-2025... All-American, 2025 New Balance Nationals, DMR... 4th Place, 2025 New York State Championship, 4x800 Relay... 11th Place, 2024 New Balance Nationals, 4x800 Relay... 1st Place, 2024 New York State Championship, 4x800 Relay

Personal 
loves to go hiking and geocaching... Has a variety of crafting-related hobbies--from crocheting to soap making... Chose Caltech because of its tight-knit community, unyielding focus on pushing the boundaries in STEM, and the opportunity to compete in collegiate cross country and track and field.