Brad Sumner and Tosha Sumner were All-Americans and individual national champions on the Villanova Wildcats track and field team in the early 1990s.
Though they ran a variety of events, both specialized in the 800m run and the pair won a combined 14 individual Big East titles and eight Penn Relays titles.
What's notable in this fact is that the married couple now have a daughter who's headed in the same direction as their alma mater.
On October 14, Woodstock (GA) High School senior Brynne Sumner, one of the top returning 800m runners in the country and a 2-time state champion in Georgia, announced she would be heading northeast to join the Wildcats track team.
"I'm just really excited to follow a little bit in their footsteps but mark my own path as well," Brynne said. "[My parents] have just been so supportive, and I'm just really excited to have a family legacy there."
And yet, Sumner does not feel any pressure at all when it comes to following her parents' footsteps.
She said her future coach at Villanova, Gina Procaccio, who's the head women's track and field and cross country coach with the Wildcats, stressed that she would not put pressure on the second-generation Wildcat, either.
"When I went on the official [visit] there, she said that she would never compare me to my mom or my dad," Sumner said.
Ultimately, it was Sumner's decision where she wanted to attend college. She said she never faced any pressure from her parents to choose Villanova. Though she considered Wake Forest, Furman, Stanford, and Georgetown, what most impressed her about Villanova was that it focused on her track and field specialties and emphasized that it would be there to develop her.
"The biggest factor is just how strong they are in the middle distance," Sumner said. "You don't see that as the main focus at a lot of schools, and just to have such an emphasis on the 800m and the 1500m is something that I'm really excited about, and I can't wait to hopefully get as much out of the 800 as I can."
Sumner also enjoyed bonding with her future teammates on her official visit to the school.
"I just connected with them so well, and I had a great time on my visit, and I am so excited to be part of the team," she said.
Last spring, she won the Class 7A 1600m run at the Georgia High School Association State Championships in a personal-best 4:50.13, and then added the 800m title with a time of 2:13.44. She also placed in the top 15 at New Balance Nationals in both the indoor and outdoor 800m run, and returns with the third and fourth fastest times in her class, respectively.
She's not having a bad cross country season, either. She's won three of five races in 2018, including a recent victory at the Area 3 Region 4 Championship, clocking in at 18:15.31. Sumner also posted her season and career best on October 10 at the Cherokee County Championships in 18:02.54.
"She's a unique athlete," said Kirk Scharich, who has coached Sumner throughout her high school career. "She's got really good speed in the 400m all the way up to cross country. This year, she's taking cross country to another level. The range that she has is phenomenal."
Still, as a senior Sumner says she has unfinished business and is eyeing up her best season yet in indoor and outdoor track.
"After track her junior year, she just--I don't know, she just took right off. She's been running with so much confidence and her workouts have been really good," Scharich said. "Just a different outlook on cross country this year. I know it's still not her favorite by any means, but she's really, really good, and I'm hoping she can win state in cross. That would be remarkable--winning the 8, 16, and cross country. That's that range I'm talking about. You just don't see it every day."
While the Class 7A GHSA Cross Country Championships approaching November 3, Sumner's looking ahead to spring.
She said her ultimate goal is to qualify for Brooks PR, an invitation only event--athletes garner golden tickets--that pits only the best in the country in a one-off national race in Seattle, Washington.
Sumner said her plans are to qualify in the 800m, her favorite race.
"I haven't been at all in all three years, so it would be really cool to run there, and I guess just PR and...to do as well in the 800 as I can," she said.
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