I met with Coach Cutright during an open house day at Juniata during my senior year of high school. I cannot emphasize enough how mediocre I was at the time. My throws were okay for my conference; I never took first in my league or at districts for any of my events. I wasn’t a stand out. But when I sat down and talked to Cutright, told him about what I’d done so far, he told me I had potential. He didn’t lie and just inflate my ego saying I was better than I was. He didn’t trying to appease me just to join his program. That’s how I knew he meant it. This was a coach that knew what he was talking about, knew what he was doing, and knew what needed to be done in order to make me good, make me better than I was in high school. I had applied to other schools and other athletic programs, but I didn’t get the same interest as I got from Juniata, and their environmental science program shone way above any of the other schools I was considering. So, I decided to give Juniata College a chance.
From the first practice in the fall of freshman year, until the day we came home from the National Competition at the end of my senior year, there wasn’t a day Coach Cutright and the other coaches on the Juniata staff didn’t believe in me and push me to do better. Even on the worst days and the not so good seasons they didn’t give up on me. They helped me work to meet that potential Cutright told me I had years earlier through workouts, countless hours of working on technique, and hours in the gym. Through my time on the Juniata track team I learned that anything you want is possible, if you’re willing to work for it. This is a philosophy that wasn’t exclusive to time in college though, it still guides me and my decisions to this day.
Living on a college campus with a couple hundred people you don’t know, miles away from home and everyone you’ve ever known, isn’t an easy thing to do and you learn that your freshman year. Finding friends that like the same things as you can be hard the first few weeks. Which is why it was nice to have somewhere to go where you know you’re a part of something and you’ll find friends with mutual interests.
I attended my first practice in the fall of freshman year and I knew this was where I was supposed to be. I met friends that inspired me They made practice FUN, something I looked forward to every day. Even if it was going to be a hard workout, I knew that my teammates were going to be right there beside me. From the locker room jam sessions and the teammates who invite you over to their dining hall table after practice, to those who help you carry your implements down to practice or back to the bus after a tough meet, these teammates became family that I couldn’t have survived without.
My time at Juniata College ended with medals, trophies, school records, and pride for how much I was able to accomplish. But I wasn’t always all of these things: national contender, college record holder. Before I came to Juniata College, I was just a scrawny girl from a small town, grateful to be accepted to a good college and thankful to have the opportunity to participate in a sport while I was there. I didn’t have any ambitions of grandeur, just the hope that I would make my time in college worth it. I didn’t know just how much this college and this track and field program could give me, until I looked back and realized how far I’d come. I don’t remember every competition or every throw, but I do remember how my teammates made me feel. When I sucked, they were there to comfort me and help me get through. And when I celebrated, I was never celebrating alone. Being a part of this team taught me that I can do anything, and the teammates I met here, showed me that no matter where I go, I’ll never go alone.