BEMIDJI 鈥� Sometimes, you just know.
That鈥檚 what Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 senior Mary Beth Mathews felt when she toured the campus of Minnesota Duluth for the second time. And now, she鈥檚 signed her National Letter of Intent to continue her education there 鈥� as well as her exploits on the track.
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鈥淚 went back a second time recently and toured around the athletic facilities and I just totally felt that I was just going to be a great fit there,鈥� Mathews said. 鈥淩ight after I left the campus, I just immediately knew that I totally wanted to go there.
It wasn鈥檛 simply the campus that drew her to Duluth. The city itself also played a large role.
鈥淚 really just love the town itself and the city,鈥� Matthews said. 鈥淚t's pretty much just like a big Bemidji. I had visited (several) colleges in total, and UMD is just the one that I felt the most comfortable at. It just has everything academically and athletically for me.鈥�
Also a Nordic skier for the Lumberjacks, Duluth鈥檚 numerous outdoor trails intrigued Mathews as she pictured spending her college career there.
鈥淚t just has everything,鈥� Mathews said. 鈥淭here's so many things to do, and I feel like you could never get bored. It's super outdoorsy and really fits my vibe, and it's a really beautiful city.鈥�
On the track, Mathews will compete in the 4x400-meter relay, as well as potentially some 200-meter events and the triple jump.
鈥淚'm really an open book when it comes to events,鈥� she said.
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But her specialty will be the 4x400, and she has designs on helping form UMD into a powerful contender in that distance.鈥淚've talked to (UMD head coach Karly Brautigam) about building the program for the 400,鈥� Mathews said. 鈥淎nd she wants to be really dominant in the 400 in our conference or against other colleges. And so that's one of my goals, is to build the program for mid-distance running at UMD.鈥�
