Wingate, N.C.----Approximately 246 student-athletes will participate in the 2013 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Cross Country championship meets Saturday. Every student-athlete has a story…a journey they have made to get to this point. Wingate University senior Bri Stevens (Coshocton, Ohio) has endured two major injuries and countless hours of rehabilitation to get ready for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
 
At the end of her sophomore cross country season in 2011, Stevens felt pain in her foot during the SAC championship meet. She finished the SAC event and raced at regionals. "I wanted to finish the season for the team," Stevens says. "The pain was excruciating…and I ran a terrible race (at regionals)."
 
She saw several doctors. "I saw the team doctor…I saw a doctor in Ohio…I saw a doctor in Charlotte," Stevens says. "They (the doctors) were trying to figure out what was wrong…at the time, no one knew."
 
"Finally, I saw my doctor in Ohio during the 2011 Christmas break," Stevens remembers. "In January, he said I definitely needed surgery. The local doctors agreed…and I had tendon replacement surgery on my left foot during the 2012 spring break (in Ohio)."
 
Stevens worked hard during the summer of 2012. "I was rehabilitating and pushing…trying to do my best during workouts," Stevens says. "I returned to Wingate for my junior year of cross country…and during the second pre-season workout…I chipped the fourth metatarsal in my right foot." She was out for the 2012 season.
 
She did not let her latest setback stop her. "I consider it a blessing I was hurt…getting hurt helped renew my love and passion for running," Stevens says. "During the summer (of 2013), my teammates and my coaches were always there for me…throughout the second surgery and my recovery…motivating me and encouraging me…It was a tremendous summer as I prepared for the 2013 season."
 
After missing the 2012 SAC meet, Stevens is ready for the challenge Saturday presents. "We are approaching the SAC championship meet as we would approach any race," Stevens says. "It is the same race we have raced all year. We are confident, but we are not overly confident. Our goal is gaining the SAC title…we believe we have a good shot."
 
"Having Bri back in the fold and competing…brings a toughness to our team," Wingate head coach Joe Soehnlen says. "We don't necessarily do captains…but she definitely fills this role for us."
 
Soehnlen believes the younger Bulldogs see Stevens…and know anything is possible. "Bri has had success and had rough times," Soehnlen says. "She's able to show our younger girls and her peers what it takes to get back on top of things. It is good for our freshmen to look up to her. She has made some of the same mistakes they are facing…the team looks up to her for this fact. This is very positive for us."
 
10 QUESTIONS WITH WINGATE'S BRI STEVENS
 
What is your most memorable athletic experience at Wingate (to date)?
 
The 2013 Royal XC Challenge was my favorite cross country meet because most of the team ran lifetime personal records. Also, our team got second out of the entire field (beating Duke) and got first place among the non-Division I teams. Everyone was so ecstatic, we gained so much insight and motivation for the potential of our team…and we gained the number one ranking in the Southeast Region.
 
What is your most memorable non-athletic experience at Wingate (to date)?
 
The 2012 post-season hangouts with the team…
 
What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?
 
I would like to have just finished my travels around the world…settling (down) in Colorado or somewhere on the West Coast, working as a track & cross country coach, personal trainer or strength and conditioning coach.
 
One word you would use to describe your personality?
 
Energetic
 
What would you most like people to know about you?
 
I'm extremely into astrological signs and I am a Gemini to the core!
 
If you could be fictional character from any movie, television show, book, etc., for a day who would it be and why?
 
The Joker…I wouldn't want to be the evil and creepy Joker, but there's something about his demented, brilliant craziness which makes him unpredictable and fearless.
 
Who is your favorite professor at Wingate (and why)?
 
Dr. Dennis Johnson…he's helped me so much with exploring career options and really grasping concepts of class in correlation to real-world knowledge. Overall, he's just truly understood me as a student and individual. It has made his advice with classes and careers much more trustworthy.
 
What was the first pair of shoes you wore when you first started playing your sport?
 
I don't know the specific model, but they were Asics because I have been running in Asics since I began competitive running.
 
Why would you recommend Wingate University to others?
 
Wingate University has provided a home away from home for me. I have met people who will forever be considered family to me. Your teammates slowly become your sisters and/or brothers and your coaches will be your greatest mentors.
 
Describe your experience at Wingate in one word?
 
Self-discovery
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, ranked as the 8th "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,000 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past seven years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing private colleges in the 2000's with 57 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 57 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 66 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.