This school year will be French's sixth in college. It's an experience she said she's been fortunate to have. Going into a sixth year of college, and fourth season at Montana State, has been a tale of two main influences.
Academics and injuries.
A member of Montana State's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, French has had a major focus on her pursuits in the classroom. She was selected as an Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship recipient by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the spring of 2019. That award led her to an opportunity to intern with the Howard Marine Sciences Lab in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, in the summer of 2019. The Wayzata, Minnesota, native was on track to essentially complete her education, but her ambitions in academics persuaded her to add to her resume.
"I just graduated in the spring with degrees in biology and chemistry," French said. "I was kind of planning to do a gap year and still run for MSU, but do more of like a post-back lighter academic mode. But then I started working on a lab on campus this summer and really kind of fell in love with that research and the lab group I was part of. Now I'm a graduate student in microbiology."
Another year in the athletic realm was also provided due to multiple factors.
The cancelation of the 2020 outdoor track and field season – and resulting NCAA decision to allow student-athletes to retain that year of eligibility going forward – gave French the opportunity to continue competing for the Bobcats in outdoor track. Good news had also come, prior to the Big Sky Conference postponing 2020 fall sports to the spring, on her eligibility in cross country. French was granted a medical redshirt by the NCAA going back to her first two fall seasons that she spent at West Virginia University.
"It was actually kind of a long process to try to get my medical redshirt and not a lot of people get a sixth year," French said. "It was one of those things I wasn't really sure until like a month ago that I'd get another cross country season. A lot of people worked really hard at MSU in administration, the training room, Lyle (Weese) and as well as some people at West Virginia came back and really helped me out even though I'd been gone from there for awhile. It was really cool to have everyone be able to support me."
French's time in college has been extended with injuries playing a role. After participating in each track and field season and cross country during the 2017-18 academic year, French was unable to run cross country in the fall of 2018. She returned last fall to the squad and was MSU's second highest finisher in three cross country meets, but missed the 2019-20 indoor season.
She's using this extra time in the fall to get herself prepared for what may come when the calendar eventually flips to 2021.
"For me personally, it's no secret I've been injured quite a bit as a collegiate athlete," French said. "I think the key for me is staying healthy and making sure everything I'm doing is keeping me on that progression of having solid fitness, but also having the health to be able to compete at my best when we're able to do so. I think if we can have a cross season in the spring that'd be really fun. I know that's one of the options they're looking at, but we just have to be flexible and go with the flow a little bit right now."
When able to compete, French has been a standout for the Bobcats. She's been a mainstay in MSU's cross country lineup in the two seasons she's ran at MSU. She holds three top 10 all-time program marks indoors and two outdoors, including the third fastest time ever by a Bobcat in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase.
She hopes to continue to be able to build off what she's already been able to achieve as a Bobcat in the time she has remaining at Montana State. It's been a journey that she's grateful to have been able to experience.
"I just feel so fortunate that I found MSU and that I'm here," French said. "After transferring, I came pretty close to just leaving the sport because of injuries and things were just not clicking right for me. That's kind of how I'd describe my time at MSU. It's just really clicked for me.
"The people and Bozeman are amazing. I love it here. The team has been awesome and so welcoming. The fact that I got such a quality undergraduate education and now I can continue that as a graduate student, I just feel so fortunate that I've been able to have these opportunities."
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August 26, 2020 at 05:40AM
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Anna French Utilizing Additional Time at Montana State - Bobcats Athletics
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