GENESEO, N.Y. – SUNY Geneseo’s Brynn Mooney has made her mark as a national champion, earning a top finish at the NCAA Division III Championships.

Mooney, a Honeoye Falls-Lima graduate, reflected on her growth throughout the season. “To see your growth was really awesome,” Mooney said.

Despite her achievements, Mooney did n’t initially believe a national title was within reach. “I didn’t really think I could win because the girl that was in first, she was up by like a good margin,” Mooney said.

Her coach, Chris Popovici, had different expectations. “In the back of my mind, the hope was to contend up front and see what could happen but didn’t want to put that out into the world,” Popovici said.

Mooney finished second in the preliminaries, just .2 seconds off first place. “After prelims, I kind of saw like how close it was. My coach had told me like I think you can win this,” Mooney said .

The hometown crowd at Nazareth College provided a boost during the final. “Definitley a big factor, I definitely heard them a few times which I probably should’ve been more focused on the race, but to hear them and there was support,” Mooney said.

Mooney made a decisive push in the final stretch. “Knowing at 100 to go where the time was, what it could play out at. I was just crossing my fingers and hoping that it worked out and then saw the flash of time come up,” Popovici said.

Mooney’s time of 55.69 seconds set a school record and secured her the national championship. “I was nervous to see what the time would be, but I knew it was going to be good,” Mooney said.

Her victory was a surprise to her, but not to those who supported her. “She just asked me, did I actually win because she didn’t want to believe it,” Popovici said. “I got a big hug from her… really fun moment.”

Mooney’s achievement is celebrated by her friends and family. “Feels like I won it for everybody,” Mooney said.

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