September 24, 2008
Note: Patriot League student-athlete spotlight stories will feature the on- and off-field achievements in all sports throughout the 2008-09 season. Stories will be released on Wednesday of each week.
by Ashley Hicks, Patriot League Media and External Relations Assistant
Navy junior Amy Watson may be small in stature, but she has already made a name for herself as a big-time athlete. The 5'1' Mid has already been named an ECAC Co-Runner of the Week and received Patriot League Runner of the Week honors in three consecutive weeks - a first-time feat for a Patriot League cross-country student athlete, but an accomplishment that flies under Watson's radar.
"I try to ignore it," Watson said, laughing. "It's a little distracting to have to think about. I didn't get to this point by keeping track of my standings or my success. I just enjoy running and I work with the team, so I try to stay focused on doing what I've been doing to get to this point."
As much as Watson may want to stay out of the limelight, it is hard to ignore her early season success. Watson began the season with a first-place finish at the Mount St. Mary's duals, outpacing the field of 66 runners from American, George Washington, Mount St. Mary's, Temple, UMBC and Maryland with a time of 18:46.98 in the 5k race. The following week, Watson was the first Mid to cross the finish line at the Fordham Invitational, finishing second overall and improving on the previous week's 5k time of 18:45.12. Most recently, Watson was the individual champion at the Navy Invitational, finishing first of 158 runners in the 6k with a time of 22:26.0.
Watson credits Navy Head Coach Karen Boyle for helping her improve as a runner.
"Karen's great, I love Karen!" Watson exclaimed. "If it wasn't for Karen, I would not be running the way I am now. Karen is very attentive to everything that all of the girls on the team have to deal with. If we have any little, minor concerns, she's ready to listen, ready to help out. We all get along with her really well. She really takes care of us."
Watson started running the summer before she began eighth grade after being inspired by her brother, who also ran cross country. The Hampstead, Md. native was a three-sport athlete at North Carroll High School, where she ran track and played tennis, in addition to running cross country. Watson also continues to run track for Navy.
"As far as dealing with school and doing sports all year, it is a challenge," Watson said. "It's just time management every day. Sometimes I think it helps just to have a sport in the afternoon just to keep your day structured. It's all about how much you want to do it and how much time you want to put into it."
Watson knew she wanted to be a Mid around the same time she started running.
"I picked out the Naval Academy because in eighth grade, I was involved with this extracurricular activity with my social studies class," she said. "We were pen pals with people in the Navy on aircraft carriers. Through this correspondence with these pilots, I learned about life in the military and was just really inspired. So I decided to come to the Naval Academy."
Watson also enjoys the level of competition that running in the Patriot League provides.
"I think we have some pretty strong competition, so it's always exciting when the championship season comes up," she said. "It's always fun to run against Bucknell and Army."
"I really like Army's course," she added, "because of the hills!"
Watson is not sure of what her exact five-year post-graduate Navy commitment will entail, but it seems fitting that her original inspiration to go to Navy is affecting her future plans as well.
"I'm looking at Navy Air right now, but everything is still up in the air. No pun intended."
