Trailblazer: Melissa Lodge

A BryantBulldogs.com exclusive

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The 2017 Bryant University cross country season has seen one thing consistent each meet: senior Melissa Lodge (Hopkinton, Mass.) has been near the top of the results list each race.

First, Lodge finished 14th to open the season at the Bryant-hosted Shawn M. Nassaney Invitational. After that, she ran to a third-place finish at the Ted Owen Invitational in a field of 93 runners, a large majority of which were from other Northeast Conference schools. The next week, a 10th-place finish at the Paul Short Run, a course that was run by nearly 200 other entrants.

But the senior, in just her second season running with the Bulldogs, didn't always see herself in Smithfield. Originally committing to Louisville, Lodge quickly found that the large Kentucky school wasn't really what she wanted for herself.

"I ended up not liking it and removed myself from that situation," Lodge said. "I was looking for a change and I was more attracted to the smaller class size (at Bryant). The student body was more of the culture that I was looking for and I had kind of wanted a more personalized relationship across the board with my coaches, my professors, and my teammates.

"I kind of just thought that I would give Bryant a try since it was something that might be the better option this time around," Lodge continued. "It seemed to be the right decision."

It certainly seems so. In a word, Lodge has been outstanding in this cross country season for the Bulldogs. She's improved her time every outing, starting the season with a 5:59-mile pace and shortening it to 5:50 her last outing, which was a 6K race at the Paul Short.

Her success is hardly a surprise, as the Bryant senior was a four-time All-NEC selection during the 2016-17 track & field season. In the NEC indoor championships, Lodge was the first student-athlete in Bryant history to take home a gold medal. Hopkinton, Massachusetts, native ran to a gold finish in the mile, finishing in 4:55.28. She then teamed with Jacklyn Sullivan (Plymouth, Mass.) to win the Distance Medley. In the outdoor season, Lodge ran to a gold-medal finish in the 1500m and earned silver in the 5000m at the outdoor championships.

But Lodge's start to her Bryant career got off to a shaky start. While practicing with the team during what would have been her sophomore season, Lodge went down with an injury, which was a stress fracture in her hip.

"She wasn't able to run until July, which was the summer before her first cross country season," Bryant cross country head coach Noah Carroll said. "We didn't really get a chance to see what kind of cross-country athlete she was. She's always liked doing distance stuff, so she's the kind of person who's always asking 'more miles, more miles' and we kind of had to hold her back a little bit."

Last season, Lodge focused more on rebounding back from the injury than placing in the front of the pack. She missed the Nassaney Invitational, Bryant's first meet of the season, and instead first appeared at the Ted Owen Invitational. She completed the course in 19:30.6, which was fourth among the Bulldog women. By the end of the season, Lodge's work came to fruition. She finished as the top Bryant runner at the NEC Championships, finishing 11th overall in the race.

"My first workout, I remember, back in our Bar Harbor training trip, I got wrecked by a lot of the early workouts," Lodge said. "I had teammates that pulled me along and I was very thankful and lucky to have them last year to pull me along and pick me up off the ground every day that I needed it.

"Every race wasn't the make or break of my season, but every race was a building block and something new," Lodge said. "I really bought into that – I don't need to PR every race, but every race I need to learn something and to take that and get better with what I have."

It's a mentality that her coach has said has been infectious. With a new team and coach, Lodge has taken a lead role in bringing the program to the next level.

"Melissa buying in right away helped a lot because the team saw her get better," Carroll said. "She's been a good advocate for the culture that we like to try and embody."

Bryant's season, though just three races in, is winding down. The team will compete in the Rothenberg Run in Warwick Friday, Oct. 13 and then the Central Connecticut Mini-Meet on Oct. 20 before heading to the NEC Championships in New Britain, Connecticut, on Oct. 28.

The conference championships will feature schools from the NEC sending their top runners, giving their all each step of the course. It's a mentally tough race.

"You find out how tough you are in cross," Lodge said. "I think that's something very special that distance runners have, is that ability to find that inner drive.

"If you have it, you can tell at the end of the races who's out there and who's fighting hard."