As former Wellesley High runner Ben Matejka prepares for his first season of collegiate competition, he does so the way he always did — running about 70 miles a week, topping out some days around 14 miles.

He works, as always, to improve his pace and endurance, and he’s placing greater emphasis on his overall health.

Matejka has a remarkable opportunity in front of him as he prepares to run Division 1 cross country and track at Dartmouth College. The big preparation change — at the recommendation of both his high school coach Tim Broe and Dartmouth coach Barry Harwick — is keeping his body fresh for the season.

Wellesley High’s most recent Male Athlete of the Year, Matejka guided the school to its first state championship. He finished first at the Eastern Mass Division 2 meet and third at the Frank Kelley Invitational.

And as he starts at the bottom of the college totem pole, he is doing everything he can to continue reaching his goals.

“It’s been incredible,’’ said Matejka. “My whole running journey, the history to get to this point. If you told me four years ago I would be running at a D1 school and running at an Ivy League school, I would have told you you’re crazy.

“So now it’s incredibly rewarding to look back and see how much I’ve been able to progress to get to this point, and now my reward is being able to compete for another four years and train with some really great runners.’’

Matejka is one several student-athletes from towns west of Boston who earned Globe All-Scholastic honors and are now preparing for their entry into the world of collegiate athletics.

Medway’s Shannon Aviza was a soccer force in high school. The Globe’s Division 3 Player of the Year, she netted 24 goals and nine assists in leading the Mustangs to the state title.

Now the former Tri-Valley League MVP and two-time All-New England honoree is gearing up for the start of her first season at Syracuse University.

Coming from successful programs at both school and with the Boston Breakers club team, she will play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, one of the country’s most competitive. While she has experience in high-stakes games against quality talent, she knows she’s entering a new arena.

“Girls are big, strong, and fast, and the speed of play is extremely fast and intense,’’ said the 5-foot-9 defender.

“High school definitely helped being in those situations, but I still can’t even compare it to playing in the ACC. But also having the club experience as well, the coaching staff, my club coaches had similar expectations . . . that you come in, work hard, are disciplined, and get the job done.’’

Also stepping on the collegiate pitch this fall is former Lincoln-Sudbury central midfielder Jenna Barnes. After contributing 101 career points in high school, 24 in her senior season, she’s now in preseason at Holy Cross. The preparation for that, though, started long before she moved to Worcester.

“I spent a lot of time working out with the [training] packet they gave us,’’ said Barnes. “I would head over to the Maynard track or over to [Lincoln-Sudbury] with some of my friends who are going to play soccer this year, and do whatever the packet says and get some touches on the ball. I spent a lot of time working out.’’

Former Watertown field hockey forward Kourtney Kennedy, like Aviza, had a long run of success in high school — indeed, the team went 91-0 during her tenure, winning four state titles,. The Globe Division 2 Player of the Year, she finished her career with 112 goals and 92 assists.

After a 43-goal, 27-assist senior season, she is now prepared for her first year at the University of Connecticut, a mainstay in the Final Four in recent years.

“Just playing at the highest level,’’ Kennedy said, is exciting. Playing in the Final Four, she said, is “something that I’ve always wanted to experience.

“With high school I learned how hard you have to work in order to be successful . . . and it’s going to be the same here. It’s all going to be hard work, and hopefully it pays off.’’

Belmont’s AnnMarie Habelow moved south to Louisville to continue playing field hockey after contributing 121 points in high school as the two-time Middlesex Liberty MVP. Like many other athletes, she moved to Louisville in early July to take a class and work with the team trainer.

Now that she’s settled in, she said, the early introduction to college was quite beneficial.

“Even besides the field hockey part, I think I would have been totally lost on campus on my first day,’’ she said. “We are walking around campus every day during the week, we are getting the feel for the campus.’

“And we’re also getting physically prepared, we are working out with our actual trainer that we use during the season, so that helps a lot. So we got a good feel of the school before the preseason even starts.’’

Logan Mullen can be reached at logan.mullen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @ByLoganMullen.