Running cross country at the college level had not been part of the plans for Lakeland High School senior Amanda Mason.

But then this past season happened, and now it is.

“I wasn’t really thinking about running for college until now because over my past two seasons before this year, I wasn’t running very well, and I dropped my time big-time this year,” she said. “So, I dropped it like three or four minutes.”

Mason officially signed to run for and attend Chowan University last week at Lakeland with her parents, coach and friends looking on.

Lakeland cross country coach Christopher Novakoski said thoughts about Mason running in college started cropping up around the midpoint of this past season when she started dropping time significantly.

She said she talked about it with fellow senior Julianna Durand and approached Novakoski about it.

He recalled noticing the drop and what he told her as a result.

“If you can keep it going, maybe you can do something with this,” he said. “She kind of just took the ball and ran with it.”

Mason thanked Durand for the role she played in helping her drop time.

“Without her help, I would never have been able to do anything, because I tried my best to keep with her in practice and everything because I knew she was our No. 1 runner,” Mason said.

Mason had different schools she was considering, but she already wanted to go to Chowan for non-athletic reasons. When Novakoski told the school about her running ability and Chowan called her, that sealed the deal.

She said she liked Chowan already because it was a smaller school, only 45 minutes away from home, and she already knew someone there who could help her if she needed assistance for anything.

Knowing the Hawks, a Division II program, wanted her and that she has been able to commit to them has boosted Mason’s confidence.

“I feel like I’m a better runner now just because of it,” she said. “I’ve accomplished something, that’s how I feel with it, and got into the college I actually really wanted to run for and go to.”

Her parents, Tony and Gennifer Mason, were proud.

“It makes me feel great,” her mother said. “Yeah, she’s worked hard. Very independent, headstrong.”

Her father said, “Neither one of us went to college, so it’s a great accomplishment and glad she’s moving on to the next level and hopefully does good there and graduates and gets her degree and does everything in life that she wants to do.”

Gennifer Mason noted her daughter has earned scholarships for both her athletic and academic abilities.

Amanda Mason wants to be a registered nurse.

Novakoski expressed his pleasure in seeing her accomplishment.

“To see somebody who’s such a nice young lady and is such a leader on my team and has worked hard, to see her be given this opportunity, it just makes me feel very happy for her,” he said. “It just couldn’t have happened to a better person.”