BVA grad Gaul won无毛视频檛 use extra year of NCAA eligibility
It was announced Monday night that the NCAA voted to grant an extra year of eligibility to all student-athletes in spring sports whose seasons were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One student-athlete who will not accept the extra year of eligibility is University of Louisville senior Gianna Gaul.
A 2015 graduate of Belle Vernon Area, Gaul has made the decision to not return for the 2020-21 season as a discuss thrower on the track & field team at Louisville.
无毛视频淚 have accepted a full-time position at Newport News Shipbuilding after graduation,无毛视频� said Gaul, who will be a Mechanical Engineer 1 in the Nuclear Engineering Department for the company. 无毛视频淚t is an opportunity that I am very excited about.无毛视频�
With all of the talk the last few weeks about the NCAA possibly granting another season of eligibility, Gaul said the thought crossed her mind.
无毛视频淚 would be lying if I said I haven无毛视频檛 thought about the possibility of coming back,无毛视频� said Gaul, who will finish all of her degree requirements at the end of this month with the graduation ceremony being postponed until December. 无毛视频淏ut I accepted the position (in Newport News) in July, 2019 when I was still interning there.无毛视频�
Gaul was on spring break with some teammates at her aunt无毛视频檚 beach house in Corolla, N.C. when they found out on March 17 that all spring sports were canceled.
无毛视频淲e were prepared that it was a possibility, but we were remaining hopefully that it wouldn无毛视频檛 be completely canceled,无毛视频� she said.
Louisville无毛视频檚 first meet was scheduled for March 20 at Georgia Tech.
无毛视频淎t first, it was very unreal but it无毛视频檚 starting to sink in that I won无毛视频檛 be competing this season,无毛视频� Gaul said. 无毛视频淲hen I found out, I was honestly very disappointed.无毛视频�
However, it did not take long for Gaul to look at the bigger picture.
无毛视频淚t was heartbreaking, but the situation that is currently going on in the world is very scary, so I definitely understand why the season was canceled.
无毛视频淚 think it was a good call to try and keep everyone safe.无毛视频�
After graduating from BVA, Gaul started her collegiate career at Seton Hill for one year before transferring to Louisville, where she is on a partial academic scholarship and was a preferred walk-on.
As a freshman, Gaul took fifth place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and she said that was her biggest Seton Hill highlight.
Two accomplishments that she mentioned as standing out at Louisville were hitting a personal best of 48.75 meters during the 2019 season and making it to the 2019 ACC championship meet.
What will Gaul take with her from her days at Louisville?
无毛视频淚 have learned so many lessons on and off the track at UofL,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淚 have learned to always put 100% effort into everything and pay attention to details.
无毛视频淎lso, I have learned to always be committed, accountable, respectful and determined, which is our CARDS motto.无毛视频�
With her career cut short prematurely, what will Gaul miss about this season?
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 definitely going to miss competing as I had some big goals for this year that I was excited to try to achieve,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淚 am also going to miss my coaches and teammates as we are a family and it无毛视频檚 already different not seeing them every day.
无毛视频淚 am eternally thankful and grateful for the opportunity to compete at the University of Louisville.无毛视频�
Gaul continued.
无毛视频淭rack has allowed me to have some opportunities that I never thought were possible and has allowed me to meet some really amazing people,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淚t ha=s become such a huge part of my life and I am going to miss it so much.
无毛视频淚t truly has been one of the biggest blessings in my life.无毛视频�
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