WOMEN'S COLLEGE CROSS COUNTRY: ATHENS' BRONSON SIGNS NATIONAL LETTER-OF-INTENT TO RUN AT DIVISION I BUCKNELL (4 Photos) (2024-11-13)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportATHENS — Attending Bucknell has becoming a tradition for the Bronsons, but Athens senior Sara Bronson, who signed a National Letter-of-Intent to run cross country for the Division I program, is only attending the Patriot League school because it's the "right fit" for her.
"Bucknell is a really great school academically, and I have a seat in their Biomedical Engineering program, which is my major of choice, so it worked out academically," she said.
"Their cross country and track teams are also great," noted Bronson. "And, I love the school, and the people on the team, and the coaches.
"Everything kind of fell into place," she added.
Bronson's sister Emma is currently a junior on the Bucknell cross country team, but that had little to do with Sara's choice.
"I looked at a wide variety of schools, and Bucknell has everything I wanted. It just happens that she goes there, too," she said.
Bronson said she also looked at Penn State, Villanova, Brown, and University of Rochester, which was her second choice.
Mike Bronson, her father and one of her cross country coaches at Athens, and her mother, Athens grad Mary Clare (Thompson) Bronson, are both Bucknell grads, but Mike said there was no pressure to continue the tradition.
"My wife and I both competed in college," he said. "We never really pushed them in any one direction.
"They both did lots of sports — gymnastics, soccer, basketball, and we just let them decide for themselves that running was what they wanted to pursue.
"They are both very independent, and have both found their own paths," noted Mike Bronson.
"We are very excited, and very proud of Sara, and all the work she's put in to get here where she's at," he added.
Having both daughters running at Bucknell will be convenient for the Bronsons.
"It will definitely make things a little bit easier to be able to see them both, rather than have to be split, and go in a couple different directions," he said.
Next fall, Sara Bronson will take a big step up from running in high school to running at the Division I level. What does she need to do to compete at the next level?
"I need to keep training consistently," she said. "I'll be able to increase my milage, and I think my experience will help."
Athens coach Scott Riley said Bronson just needs to keep doing what she's been doing.
"I just think she needs to stay on the same path she's been on.
"She came into our program as a 7th-grader, so she has six years of progression under her belt," Riley said.
"When she gets to college, she's going to see a little bit different style of coaching, and things will be a little more intense, which will allow that growth to continue," he added.
Like any other sports, notes Riley, Bronson will get better by running with better runners on a daily basis.
"It will absolutely make her better," he said. "She's experienced that here every year, she always had one or two good runners to keep pushing her here, and more in District 4.
"The same thing will happen at Bucknell to a greater extent," added Riley. "She'll be around good teammates and competition, and she'll have good people to train with and work with, and that helps to you develop."
Bronson was a four-time PIAA qualifier at Athens.
"I'm super-glad to have been able to compete at States four years," she said. "I've had great coaches, and it's been really cool for my Dad to be able to share his knowledge with me. I think it's prepared me well for college."
Bronson will be majoring in Biomedical Engineering, but isn't quite sure yet where it will lead her.
"I'm not sure yet, but it interests me," she said. "There are a lot great career fields in engineering, and it's growing."
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IN PHOTO 1: Athens senior Sara Bronson. IN TOP PHOTO: From left: Mary Clare Bronson, Sara Bronson, Mike Bronson.
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