April 6, 2020
By: Nick Skeen, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Bluffton University sports information office will be talking to many of our spring athletes who are seniors during the month of April. They give us a glimpse back to their time at Bluffton along with what the future holds for them and their teammates.
Strange times have swept across the country. Due to the Corona Virus, everything has been cancelled. Athletes like Connor Gulick will not get to compete during their senior year. However, Connor was able to make lasting memories during his time as a student-athlete at Bluffton.
Connor is from Utica, Ohio, having graduated from Utica High School. He competed in both cross country and track for Bluffton, running everything from the 400 to the 3,000 meters. Connor is a sports management and business major.
I was able to talk with Connor and ask him about what drew him to Bluffton. He said, "What brought me to Bluffton was the family atmosphere, the strong community and that it reminded me of being back home."
As a student-athlete, there are many challenges. Connor stated that, "One of the challenges I had was the balancing act between practice and hurrying to get to night class."
Being a student-athlete teaches you many life lessons. Responsibility, time management and people skills are just a few lessons that student-athletes pick up. For Connor, attention to detail, being able to balance many things at once and the work ethic it takes to be successful are some things he learned to take into his field.
Many memories are made in college. Four years of being around the same people gives you plenty of memories to look back on. For Connor it is no different. "The last regional meet was a very muddy, sloppy mess but was probably the most fun meet I have ever ran," he said.
Four years as a student-athlete allows you to grow not only as a player, but as a person as well. This is often overlooked by young athletes who are inexperienced and try to rush through things. Connor's advice to them is, "Enjoy the time you get to do it, be in the moment, and enjoy every moment of it."
-BEAVERS-