When Brianna Belo approaches the starting line, she鈥檚 not always alone. As she prepares for a race, negative thoughts have been known to join her. 听
鈥淚 think everyone has fear, anxiety, and self-doubt, but what has been really helpful for me is acknowledging that they鈥檙e there鈥 but not the truth,鈥 she says. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 let those thoughts stay in your head. You have to make an intentional decision to say, I鈥檓 going to do it anyway.鈥
If Belo, CAS/BA 鈥18, is occasionally intimidated before races, imagine what her competitors must feel. Over the course of her four years at AU, she鈥檚 become one of the program鈥檚 most decorated鈥攁nd unlikely鈥攕tars. 听
She didn鈥檛 cross the finish line of her final collegiate race in first place, but it was a win in one sense of the word. Over Memorial Day weekend at the NCAA Championships East Preliminary Round in Tampa, Florida, Belo surpassed her own school record in the 800 meters. Though she narrowly missed qualifying into the quarterfinals, her time marked her 21st school record across six events.听
Not bad for a woman who at one time didn鈥檛 even consider herself to be athletic.听
鈥淢y parents laugh now because me and my sister are really skinny with big heads and kind of clumsy,鈥 says Belo, a Philadelphia native whose identical twin, Brittany, ran track at Syracuse University for a time. 鈥淲e were not really good at any sports.鈥
After a stint on the crew team, Belo joined track to fulfill a high school requirement. Although she began running faster and enjoying the sport, she didn鈥檛 post any college-worthy times until late in her senior year. 听
At AU, the former track and field coaching staff invited her to walk onto the team as a sprinter.听
鈥淲hen I first got here I was nervous and intimidated by everyone else,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t was not a fun mentality to have [when you鈥檙e] racing. I had to tell myself that I can be just as good as those other girls.鈥
A move to middle distance running proved that she was. In addition to racking up school records and earning a scholarship, this year she became the first AU women鈥檚 track and field student-athlete since 2015 to earn a spot on the outdoor Academic All-Patriot League team. A public health major, Belo already is enrolled in a health promotion master鈥檚 program at AU.
Although her career ended before she would have liked, she鈥檒l go down as one of the greatest female track athletes in Eagles history.听
鈥淏rianna ran absolutely valiantly,鈥 Coach Sean Graham told aueagles.com. 鈥淲hen an athlete is able to run a personal record in a championship meet, you know they gave it their all. I could not be more proud of what she accomplished this year and over her career. Going from a walk-on in a completely different event to just missing the national championships is amazing. She is a true testament to the hard work and grit necessary for becoming a great athlete.鈥
Throughout her career, she鈥檚 proven that to everyone鈥攊ncluding herself.
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