My life as a Griz began on a cold February night in 1985.  That night my mom, a former Griz track and cross country athlete, told my dad to start the car and drive the forty-some miles from St. Ignatius to Missoula so she could have me in the comfort of Community Medical Center.  Being a smart man, my dad didn’t argue about the proximity of the hospital in town, but rather got her to Missoula in record time.  At 5:35 a.m. on February 23^rd I became a third generation Griz.

Seventeen short years later, I was a successful high school track and field athlete looking to take the next step.  Of course by looking I actually mean I sat in class at Billings Senior high school receiving almost daily letters from colleges and universities across the country.  Letters and calls were made and graciously accepted, but I was waiting.  I wanted to be a Griz.

Then one day the phone rang and before the end of the call I’d scheduled my recruiting trip to Missoula for a weekend in October.  Making the journey with my mom, we toured the campus, had pancakes at Paul’s and met the team.  But they sealed the deal with a sunny Saturday spent in the stands of Washington Grizzly Stadium.  The atmosphere and passion of both the players and the fans captivated me.  I decided to sign my letter of intent and solidified my lifelong love of the Griz during that first game.  It was really that easy.

Now to say I’m a Griz fan is somewhat of an understatement; fan just doesn’t seem a strong enough word to capture how I feel about University of Montana athletics.  As an undergraduate, and now a graduate, student I’ve experienced Grizzly sports from many angles.  I’ve sat in the stands, competed on the field, learned in the classroom and shared rent with several athletes from cheerleaders to football players.  I even had the pleasure of getting out of a lease when Dan Carpenter informed me he’d been given two weeks to move to Miami.

It’s my hope that I can bring a new prospective to eGriz as both a former athlete and a female.  Or at the very least I’ll get to spend a bit of my free time talking about something I love – Grizzly sports.  Either way I’m excited to raise my voice as a proud citizen of Griz Nation.  You know what they say, once a Grizzly always a Grizzly.