Brett Davis has made an instant impact in his first year as a Mountain Lion on the cross country and track team.
Davis’ performances in races and on the track have led him to become un-redshirted as an incoming freshman; something very uncommon within the cross country and track program.
Davis described his experience of becoming un-redshirted as unexpected.
“When I first met with Coach [Mark] Misch as a senior in high school, I was told that all freshmen get redshirted their first year and was fully expecting for that to happen to me. But after our first-time trial, I proved that I was capable of competing well and would help our team get to nationals, and so my coach told me I would get un-redshirted,” he said.
Davis thinks he has made significant contributions to the cross country team.
“At the end of the cross country season, I helped our team secure a 19th finish and was one of the top freshmen in the field. I don’t regret the decision [to become un-redshirted] at all as I know that I was able to contribute to our team’s success,” Davis said.
In addition to excelling within athletics, Davis has a passionate for mechanical engineering and has chosen it as his major.
“I’ve always been fascinated by how machines in our everyday lives work and love the fields of physics and math. What I enjoy most about engineering is that the classes challenge me to think outside of the box an come up with solutions to problems I would never even have thought of,” Davis said.
However, Davis also acknowledges that balancing his passions of running and engineering can be difficult at times. “Balancing academics and athletics has always been a challenge, especially when it comes to making up classes after competitions,” he said.
Nevertheless, Davis has found a solution that works well for him.
“I’ve found what works best for me is to relax and tell myself that I have professors and friends there to help me in situations like that. I will also map out a plan to get schoolwork done early and get help from professors as needed,” he said.
Davis’ future as a college athlete was not definite. Instead, running was something that he just kept doing after he found out he was good at it.
“When I first started high school cross country and track, I had never even done the sport, let alone even really ran. I was a swimmer all my life and thought to give running a try. Turns out I was really good at it, and slowly — but eventually — got to the point when I was one of the best running in the nation, placing 17th at Nike outdoor nationals my senior year,” Davis said.
Davis attributes his success today to his high school cross country and track experience.
“Ultimately, my high school career was pretty exciting and set me up to one day be on the higher caliber runners in the NCAA,” Davis said.
Davis thinks he has already accomplished so much in his running career and that being a college athlete at UCCS can help him achieve even more.
“My coaches in high school always told me that I would do great things in the sport and hopefully inspire others if I kept continuing my running career post high school. So, once my junior year ended, I reach out to UCCS in hopes of meeting [the] coach and possibly one day competing for the team. Coach Misch reached back out to me, and the rest was history,” David said.
Davis said that he is happy with his decision to become a Mountain Lion, “I’ve loved every minute I’ve been a part of this team and I know for a fact that this is where I’m meant to be because of how exceptional the team camaraderie is [and] how perfect the coaching is.”
Brett Davis. Photo via GoMountainLions.com.