TicketsApril 19, 2011
By Tiffany George
GoBEARCATS.com
When Natasha Burse first started her track and field career at the University of Cincinnati, she never thought that she would be where she is today.
A senior, Burse has a few goals for her last season as a collegiate athlete. First and foremost is to be able to look back and be proud of what she's done.
"It's my senior year, and I'm trying to do it big," Burse said. "I want to not have any regrets."
Fresh off winning three championships at the All-Ohio meet last weekend in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and the 4x100 meter relay, Burse is gearing up to end her senior season and her collegiate career by achieving her ultimate goal: compete at nationals.
Her road to UC and her journey while here hasn't always simple. Hailing from Garland, Texas, Burse wanted to get out of her home state for college and found what would become her new home in the atmosphere and team spirit of the Cincinnati squad. A biopsychology major, the biology program at UC also appealed to her and she accepted a scholarship to run for the Bearcats.
However, once she was here, things seemed a little different.
"When I first got here, it was tough," Burse said. "Freshman year I considered transferring. I wasn't feeling it, I wanted to leave. But I dealt with what I had and had nowhere else to go, so I just did everything I could to get better."
After her brief respite, Burse hit the weight room harder than ever to accomplish her dreams at UC.
"I got used to it," she said. "I've grown mentally and physically."
The holder of several school sprint records, Burse counts those among her biggest accomplishments so far, but is not ready to claim them as her favorite moments yet.
"I want to go to nationals," Burse said. "When I'm done with my collegiate career, that would be my biggest accomplishment."
Burse is well on her way to accomplishing her goal, as she has now qualified for the regional meet in the three events that she championed at the All-Ohio Championships.
Of her three events, Burse counts the 200 meters as her favorite race.
"It's short, but it's really fast," she said. "The difference between the 100 and the 200 is that if I mess up at the beginning of the 200, I have a little more time to make it up. I can come back from that and finish strong, finish hard."
After finishing up both her track and field and academic college careers, Burse has a few ideas for future plans.
"I think I'd still like to go to grad school," Burse said. "Hopefully here at UC. Or maybe go pro in track."
Before she can get that far, however, she still has an outdoor track and field season to finish up and a graduation to make it to, and she's prepared to do whatever she can to accomplish her goals.
"I'm going to fight until the end," she said. "Whether it's BIG EAST or regionals or whatever. I'm doing whatever I can to get to nationals."