Students have choices to make every day, from what they should eat for lunch to whether they should go to class, but before students arrived in Malibu they all made one choice: to attend Pepperdine University.
The freshmen on the women’s track team contemplated various colleges from New York University to the University of Miami.
Despite the great academic opportunities across the country, four ladies on the team decided to stay in their home state of California.
Freshmen Triston Brown, Alexa Brown-Watterson, Niala Charles and Erin McConlogue make up four of the six new athletes on the team this year.
All from high schools in California, they hail from San Clemente, Mission Viejo, Temecula and Rancho Santa Fe, respectively.
Each of them had their own reasons for choosing Pepperdine.
“I chose Pepperdine because of its standing academically,” Brown said. “Its Christian base is also a plus in today’s world.”
On the other hand, McConlogue’s brother, an upperclassman at Pepperdine, convinced her to become a Wave.
“I just fell in love with the school,” McConlogue said.
Whatever their reasons, each of the ladies also has big goals set for their track careers in Malibu.
“I was injured and unable to compete on the track team my junior year [of high school],” Charles said. “I want to improve on my times from my junior season and try to break school records in the 100-meter and the 200-meter.”
However, track is not the only reason they are at Pepperdine, and they also have big dreams for their futures. Their career hopes span broadcast journalism, pediatrics, dentistry and therapy.
“Academically, it can be overwhelming trying to balance practice with class schedules,” Brown-Watterson said. “Physically, it is definitely a jump [from high school], not in hours, but in the level of seriousness and dedication.”
It may be a challenge, yet Brown-Watterson explained how ideal her first few weeks have been.
“I love the track team,” Brown Watterson said. “The upperclassmen were very welcoming, and I love the family atmosphere.
“The coaches are sweet, but tough. I really appreciate the whole experience so far.”
Charles even described the team as a “mini – sorority.”
With such strong team chemistry already established, the ladies are now all happy they chose Pepperdine.
They cannot even fathom how their lives would have turned out otherwise, as Charles wondered what no one could begin to answer: “Imagine if we all ended up at different schools.”
