There is no doubt that senior Camille Etheridge belongs in the world of sports.

A cross country and track athlete, Etheridge recently announced her commitment to run at the University of North Alabama. A Division I school, this achievement marks the culmination of years of arduous work, along with an element of surprise. After all, who would have predicted a lauded softball player would become a collegiate runner?

For Etheridge, a commitment to athletics is in her blood. A longtime softball player, she spent the majority of her childhood training and competing for school and travel teams. She also swam competitively for many years, eventually forgoing the sport in high school. On top of it all was cross country, which she participated in each fall.

“I have no idea how I did it,” she recalled, laughing. “I would go from cross country to the pool for swimming, then softball practice.”

In the midst of this, Etheridge also had to manage her studies. She would often have sports practices until 8 or 9 pm, requiring her to stay up late to complete assignments. 

Come sophomore year, she decided that something needed to change. After tough conversations with both parents and coaches, Etheridge ultimately stepped away from softball to pursue running full-time.

“After state, I realized that I was actually a pretty good runner,” she said. “I saw an opportunity and decided to take it.”

But even though Etheridge saw the potential in her running career, she didn’t envision pursuing the sport collegiately until this past summer. She notes that college athletics had always been “in the back of her mind” as a dream rather than an expectation. For the first two years of high school, Etheridge competed on junior varsity and ran primarily for fun. After seeing teammates sign collegiate contracts, however, her perspective began to change. 

“[They] really pushed me to want to be better,” she expressed. “And that’s when I started training harder and focusing more.”

Since then, Etheridge has superseded her expectations. Not only has she been part of multiple state teams for cross country and track, but she has also continued to improve her times, breaking multiple personal records in recent seasons. This trend of success convinced her that running collegiately was possible. 

Over the summer, she began communicating with school coaches in and out of state. Though she received multiple offers, she ultimately chose the University of North Alabama for its beautiful campus and inclusive team environment. 

“I fell in love with it,” she said. “I knew it was my place.”

For Etheridge, the appeal of college athletics is its routine. With the commitment to attending practice each day, she believes that sports cultivate time management skills unlike anything else. 

“I need to be in a routine,” she explained. “Habits are really important for me.”

In addition, Etheridge cites community as a driving force in her decision to continue running. Not only do collegiate teams provide an instant source of friends, but they enable students to be part of something bigger than themselves. This holds true for UNA’s cross-country squad, which she describes as having “genuinely good people.”

While Etheridge does not have specific goals for college, she is looking forward to exploring her interests and choosing a career path. More than anything else, she aims to keep improving.

“Competing and getting better is such an indicator of your life,” she said. “Don’t think that you can’t do it, because you can.”