Mather's love of sports has enriched her college experience

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This week's Feature Friday Series takes a look at senior cross country runner Brittany Mather and her passion for sports which has helped to make her college experience a well-rounded one.)

By Morgan Miller
Athletics Student Feature Writer

“Once an athlete, always an athlete,” is a saying that definitely rings true for cross country senior Brittany Mather, who has been involved in athletics her entire life.

Mather’s interest in sports began at the early age of seven when she took the field as a soccer player.

“I loved everything about soccer and it’s all I ever wanted to do,” she said. “I would kick the soccer ball around the backyard for hours.”

Her love for soccer as well as other sports continued throughout middle school when she moved up from playing town soccer to a premier league. Mather also took up basketball and softball during middle school, but she continued to stick with soccer through high school. During her high school career, Mather was on varsity soccer for four years and served as a co-captain her senior season.

Even though she had an incredible passion for soccer, Mather decided not to play in college and instead decided to focus on her studies.

She never wavered from her studies, but by sophomore year Mather had the urge to play sports again. Keri Marnane, one of Mather’s close friends on campus, was quick to interject and convinced her to join the cross country team.

“When Keri asked me to join the team I didn’t know anything about the sport at all, but I decided to give it a shot,” she said. “It seemed like a great opportunity for me to learn something new.”

Mather ran for the team throughout her sophomore and junior years and was even selected for the Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll during both campaigns. She expressed that running cross country was entirely different than all of the years that she had spent on the soccer field.

“Cross country is a completely different kind of running compared to running that you do in soccer,” said Mather. “Cross country is more disciplined and you definitely have to learn how to pace yourself so that you can be running your best as you near the finish line.”

The addition of new head coach Zach Emerson, as well as the expansion of the program, has made Mather’s senior season especially exciting.

“When Coach Emerson came he taught me so much in such a short amount of time,” Mather said. “He trained us the right way and gave the team a complete make over.”

Mather expressed that she has many short and long-term goals for this season as well as for the future.

“My personal record is currently 22:44 and my goal is to just keep beating it,” she said. “I just hope to keep improving and be able to switch over and get into track shape as the indoor and outdoor seasons roll around.”

The closeness of the team has also aided in Mather’s growth into the athlete that she is today.

“I love my teammates, they’re all younger, so they’re like my really talented and motivated younger siblings and I would do anything for them,” she said. “We look out for each other and that is the mark of a great team. I’m really enjoying my final go-around in college sports.”