Brielle Collins fell out of love with running.
In 2023, the then-junior at Hawken was injured at the start of the season and couldn’t take to the courses. Her first race wasn’t until the last race of the regular season.
With confidence returning to her stride, Collins ended the cross country season strong and was fifth in the 3,200 meters during the state track and field meet in the spring.
“The biggest thing was trying to like running again,” Collins said. “It was difficult to do that when you put a lot of stock into your place rather than the team chemistry as a whole and overall performance. I’m very excited to be a part of the team again with a very supportive group around me. The biggest thing with coming back has been the support of the team and that’s something that has really helped me going into the season.”
Coach Ryan Morley took over the Hawken program before the start of the indoor season. He knew there would be a challenge to help rebuild the program and the runners’ confidence.
Collins needed some time, but it started to return to form during the outdoor season, and her confidence was reformed. Morley said that with her 15-second drop at the state track and field meet, she had started to put it all together.
“It’s been a wonderful transformation to see,” Morley said. “I told her at the start of indoor last year that we’re going to let go of the past. All the good, the bad, we’re going to start from scratch and rebuild. I wanted her to run based on feel. And you could see through the course of the track season, she kept getting stronger. Her natural talent in endurance is second to none, so we then focused on the speed and strength. You could see that confidence for her rebuild and it was great to watch.”
Collins started to rebuild her own confidence at the end of the cross country season, where she finished 32nd, just short of All-Ohio honors. She has qualified for the state meet all three of her seasons and earned All-Ohio as a freshman.
She is focused on bookending her career with All-Ohio honors and getting back to the form of her freshman season.
“The biggest thing with getting back to racing from an injury is just trying to stay engaged in the race,” Collins said. “Trying to not let those negative thoughts in. Just remembering that you enjoy running and running for the sport.”
Collins isn’t just focused on her own goals but has high aspirations for Hawken as a whole. The Hawks haven’t qualified as a team since 2020.
She knows the Hawks aren’t very experienced runners but feature a lot of overall depth and talent.
Collins hasn’t just focused on her own development but is also helping the team progress as a whole. Her leadership has helped them make early strides and is excited for the continued progression through the season.
“My biggest thing into senior year is to keep that momentum going,” Collins said. “I’m really lucky to have the sophomores that were injured last year back and at full capacity. I’m happy to let the momentum go from the end of track and let that carry the team. The biggest thing is to give the races my all. I want to try to run the fastest times I ever have all season and get the team back down to Columbus.”
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