In 2018-19, the Mountain East Conference began its "Dear Sport" initiative where student-athletes in the conference were encouraged to write a letter to their sport. The initiative provides the opportunity for student-athletes to express in their own words the impact that sports has played in shaping them throughout their lives. 

Click here to view all letters posted throughout the year. 

Below is a letter from Heather Chernutan, a track & field student-athlete at Concord.

Dear Track and Field,
 
Painful yet rewarding would be the way I would describe you. I have loved you from a very young age, always running around since I can remember.

I joined the middle school track team and that’s when I fell in love with you even more and I didn’t think it was possible. From middle school to high school you made a shy girl like me feel confident in something.

As the confidence grew, so did the physical damage on my body. This sport has taught me how mentally and physically strong I can be. You taught me during my freshman year when I dislocated my knee only 260 meters in my collegiate career that I can still get through it. This injury was one that had me thinking that my track career had ended for good. One never knows how much they truly love something until you think about having to let it go. Struggling through the injury that set me out my first year made me humble myself and stay focused on becoming mentally tough.

You brought me coaches to look up to and ones that helped me stay positive even when I was feeling discouraged. You brought me friendships that will last a lifetime and teammates that are family. Through my knee injury I became so close with my team and supporting them through everything because I knew one day I was going to be off crutches and be able to help my team to victory. When my sophomore year came around and I had to sit out indoor season because my knee was acting up again, my love for the sport kept me resilient. During that outdoor season I helped my 4x400 team to victory.

Though the thought of track always brings up the painful memory of my knee I wouldn’t trade the journey because this sport is what made me be the person I am today and brought such caring people into my life.
 
Thank you for everything,
Heather Chernutan
Concord University