By FRED KRONER
College is a time for newness.
New school.
New friends.
New responsibilities.
New experiences.
Brea Benson is taking the concept of new experiences to an extreme.
One of the most prolific scorers in the history of the Mahomet-Seymour girls’ soccer program, Benson always figured she would be an athlete beyond high school.
“Ever since I was a little girl, I have dreamed of competing in college,” Benson said. “I always imagined that I would be playing soccer, continuing the sport that I had fallen in love with and dedicated myself to at such a young age.
“Ever since middle school, I had gone to recruitment camps, made highlight films to send to coaches, and basically anything possible to get noticed by coaches. Getting recruited basically became the focus of my athletic career, instead of playing to have fun.”
And, Benson did get recruited.
But the 2022 M-S graduate won’t be adding to her exploits on the soccer pitch.
She will be pursuing rowing at The Ohio State University, where she hopes to receive scholarship aide as a sophomore after spending her freshman year as a walkon.
Despite the expectations from her younger years, Benson didn’t need to pick between the two sports as she prepared for college.
“I didn’t have to choose between rowing and soccer because by the time I decided to pursue rowing, I had already made the decision that I would not be playing college soccer,” Benson said. “I loved playing soccer and I wouldn’t trade all the years of training and games for anything, but I knew that if I continued to play another four years at a much higher level, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it.
“I wanted to attend a Big Ten school, and I wasn’t willing to sacrifice the school that I wanted to go to for academics, in order to play soccer. I had played since I was 4 years old, and deciding to not play in college felt like I was letting my younger self down because it was my dream.
“Walking off the field for the last time (as a Bulldog) was a heartache I hadn’t ever imagined, but I knew I was ready for something new.”
But rowing?
It happened quite by accident.
“I had a recruitment profile for soccer containing my highlights, academic information, etc.” Benson said. “I had received an email from a smaller Division I college who had seen my profile and were recruiting athletes for their rowing team.
“At this point in my recruitment process, rowing was not even on my radar, but I figured that getting more information about it wouldn’t hurt.”
It was mind-boggling for Benson to receive interest in a sport in which she had not participated.
“Getting recruited for a sport that I had never done before was something that I didn’t even know was possible,” she said. “I got more information from the coach, and she informed me that rowing is a sport that can be learned, so it isn’t uncommon for schools to search for athletes who have no experience rowing.
“I went on a visit, and eventually got an offer, but I knew that school was not the right fit for me.”
While she was flattered by the interest and intrigued by the idea, she didn’t see rowing in her future.
“I had put the thought of rowing in the back of my mind and continued visiting other colleges,” Benson said. “After visiting The Ohio State University, I knew that was where I wanted to go, which meant it was time for me to hang up my cleats.”
After much soul-searching, Benson opted to take a chance.
“I wasn’t ready to not be a part of an athletic team, so I reached out to the rowing coach to see if being a part of the team was even a possibility,” she said. “The coach expressed that it was a possibility and I was the type of athlete that they were looking for.
“I had many phone calls, and went on a visit to meet the coaches, members of the team, and to get a better idea of what rowing was all about.
“I got an offer and the rest is history.”
Benson signed a national letter of intent and is officially a member of the OSU rowing program.
Though she is a novice in her new endeavor, she is joining a solid program.
Ohio State won the Big Ten championship and placed eighth in the NCAA meet.
As yet, Benson has no goals for herself.
“I honestly don’t know how I will fit in,” Benson said. “I will be placed on the Novice team my freshman year, which is basically a team made up of freshmen who also have not rowed before.
“My roommate used to play volleyball. There are also girls who did track, swimming and basketball. It is comforting knowing that we are all going to be in the same boat – literally – because we will all be completely new to the sport.”
The Buckeyes’ women’s rowing program has more than four dozen members.
“The team is large,” Benson said. “They competed in the Big Ten Championships this spring where they sent seven boats.
“There are two types of boats that compete, one with eight girls and there is also a boat that holds four girls.”
Before settling on OSU, Benson visited multiple universities, mostly in the Big Ten or Southeastern Conference.
“I knew that I wanted to attend a larger school,” she said.
She selected OSU over the University of Illinois.
Tackling a new sport was something she felt compelled to try.
“I knew this was a huge opportunity that I would regret if I didn’t take it,” she said. “I actually have no experience rowing. I haven’t even been on a rowing machine before either.
“This is going to be a completely new experience for me.”
When Benson signed her national letter of intent, she experienced mixed emotions.
“Signing Day for me was super fun, but a little bittersweet at the same time,” Benson said. “I was super excited to still be continuing my athletic career especially at such an amazing school, but I would be lying if I didn’t say that a small part of me wished that I was signing for soccer.
“I knew that it was the right decision for me, but ever since I was little, I dreamed of that day and signing for soccer.”
Benson was a three-year soccer letter winner at M-S, having her sophomore season canceled due to COVID-19.
In the history of the M-S program, she ranks third for points (combined goals and assists) with 121 (54 goals and 67 assists).
Benson was a two-time Apollo all-conference first-team pick. As a freshman, she was chosen for the all-conference second team.
Part of her decision to bypass soccer in college was due to the fallout from COVID.
“The recruiting process during COVID-19 made everything extremely difficult,” Bensn said. “Junior year of high school is typically when players attend a lot of camps and are in touch with coaches the most, but all of that was shut down due to COVID so it really set back the recruitment process.
“Schools also weren’t looking to recruit as many athletes because their seniors were given another year of eligibility. It made the process much more stressful, and definitely impacted my decision to not play soccer anymore.”
Soccer was the only sport Benson played while in high school.
She plans to major in Mechanical Engineering at OSU, but hasn’t settled on a career path.
“I still have a lot of uncertainty about what I want my future to look like, but I would love to live anywhere but the Midwest,” Benson said.
Her college home is more than 300 miles from her hometown. It’s daunting, but also exciting, Benson said.
“It will be difficult for me to move away from all my friends and family, but I know that it will be good for me to be more independent,” Benson said. “I have relied on my parents for a lot and it’ll be really hard to be away from them, but it was also part of the reason I chose OSU because I needed to push myself to be uncomfortable and grow in a new environment.”
