Wingate University's Andrea Criscio may have played soccer her entire life, but the freshman has hit her stride as a member of the Bulldogs cross country team.

Criscio sought out Wingate head cross country coach Dennis Johnson on the first day of classes this past August. After earning a spot on the team with just her soccer experience to guide her, she entered her first competitive race -- the Disney World Classic at Walt Disney World -- on October 6. Six days later she finished sixth in the Erskine Invitational. Exactly two weeks after lacing up the cross country sneaks for the first time, Criscio turned in a fifth-place finish in the South Atlantic Conference Cross Country Championship to help the Bulldogs collect the school's first league title. Criscio earned first team all-SAC honors and was named as the 2007 SAC Freshman of the Year for her efforts.

Not bad, especially considering Criscio's journey began on little more than a hunch. In high school, she enjoyed daily workouts on the treadmill. "I loved to either walk or run on the treadmill so I decided that maybe instead of going to the gym every day I could run. I loved running, so I thought, 'let me try this.'"

Criscio has tried and succeeded. So much success so early has been an unexpected surprise, she said. As it happens, she has some experience dealing with the unexpected.

Criscio's route to her newfound sport is rooted in tragedy. She played soccer during her freshman and sophomore years at Westfield (Massachusetts) High School, and had embarked on her third season with the squad when her father died.

"My dad was always the one who rooted me on," she said. "He was my soccer inspiration, so I had to quit."

Criscio had lost her mother years earlier, when she was 9. Parentless at 15, even if she'd found her way back to the pitch in time for her senior campaign, she couldn't have taken advantage of the opportunity. Although she had an older sister, she lived on her own and spent that year working to support herself by holding down multiple jobs. Criscio graduated from high school a semester early and used the subsequent months to continue working to save money for college.

Now well into her first year at Wingate, Criscio only appeared in five of the Bulldogs meets in 2007, but is already looking ahead to next year with an eye toward increasing her speed and working on controlling her nerves before races.

"I would get so nervous I would cry," Criscio said in describing the extent of her prerace jitters. "I love running but I didn't know what to expect and that's one thing that's a struggle for me -- the pressure."

In spite of a spectacular debut season and firm plans to continue to pursue her running career, Criscio admitted she has spoken with the Bulldogs' soccer coach about possibly joining the squad.

"If I tried soccer, I don't know if that would make me depressed or stressed because maybe it would bring back memories," she said. "I think I'm going to stick with cross country."

In that case, it's the competition that will have a hard time sticking with her.

Criscio plans to pursue either a physical education or sports management degree and hopes to open her own gym one day.