Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of the spring season, the Upper Iowa Athletics Department is spending the next few months spotlighting many of our Peacock student-athletes whose spring seasons came to a premature end. 

In today's virtual interview, Pete the Peacock gets to know UIU women's track & field runner Cassiddy Wilson. Cassiddy is a junior from Delhi, Iowa who came to Fayette three years ago from Maquoketa Valley High School. She is majoring in criminal justice and sociology.

PETE: How would you describe yourself in three words?    
CASSIDDY: Determined, driven, and dedicated.

PETE: What made you want to be a collegiate student-athlete?    
CASSIDDY: I love running track and the coaching staff at UIU thought I had a lot of potential so I wanted to see what I could do!

PETE: What have you learned about what it takes to be a student-athlete?    
CASSIDDY: Sacrifice. It takes a lot of sacrifice, especially if you want to excel at your sport.

PETE: What is your favorite way to de-stress?    
CASSIDDY: Well, running is the easy answer. But I also like to do crafts to take my mind off of things too.

PETE: What advice would you give to your 14-year old self?    
CASSIDDY: Forget about volleyball, run cross country. You are much better at running than anything to do with hand-eye coordination.

PETE: How do you want to be remembered?    
CASSIDDY: As never being afraid to take on a challenge.

PETE: What's the best thing that has happened to you in the last week?    
CASSIDDY: I GOT A PLANE TICKET HOME. I have been stuck in Virginia since March 3rd because of the pandemic.

PETE: What are the top three things on your bucket list?    
CASSIDDY: To visit Australia. To attend an Olympic track meet. To go scuba diving.

PETE: What is your dream job if money wasn't a factor? Why?    
CASSIDDY: Working on human trafficking tracking and investigation. This is my dream career regardless of anything. I am passionate about that area.

PETE: Who are three people (dead or alive) you'd love to have dinner with? Why?    
CASSIDDY: Robin Williams, Will Smith, and Amy Poehler. Because these people are all comedic genesis, it would be a really fun dinner, and they are all also really inspiring individuals.

PETE: What is your most memorable sports moment?    
CASSIDDY: Sophomore year at UIU, Indoor Conference Championships. In the final lap of the 600 meter, I moved from eighth place all the way up to fourth place. I came across the finish line right into my coach's arms. It was my first conference medal.

PETE: What fictional character (movie, TV show, book, cartoon, etc.) would you want to be for a day? Why?    
CASSIDDY: Leslie Knope. I would take her enthusiasm for Parks and Recreation and apply it to track and my studies.

PETE: Do you have any collections? If so, what?    
CASSIDDY: Anyone who knows me, knows I have way too many coffee mugs. I like to collect weird ones. Like ones with ugly faces or funny quotes.

PETE: What is your dream vacation spot? Why? What would you want to do there?    
CASSIDDY: I really want to visit Arizona and go to Antelope Canyon.

PETE: If you were president for a day, what would you change?    
CASSIDDY: If I were president for a day I think that I would attempt to make changes regarding alternative sanctions for non-violent drug offenders. I want to focus on rehabilitation rather than retribution.

PETE: What is your favorite restaurant in the world? What do you order?    
CASSIDDY: My grandparent's restaurant Diny's which has closed down but if I could I would order a cheeseburger with a side of hashbrowns and a Shirley Temple.

PETE: What does your dream life after retirement look like?    
CASSIDDY: Becoming a track official for high school meets.

PETE: What is your favorite non-sport hobby?    
CASSIDDY: I like crafts, like painting, bracelet making, drawing, and so on.

PETE: What are three things you cannot live without? Why?    
CASSIDDY: My track watch for timing repeat 400's. Dry shampoo for those in-between wash days. My laptop for all my online homework.

PETE: What is one cause that you hold dear to your heart? Why?    
CASSIDDY: Human trafficking. It is an aspect of criminal justice that I am passionate about.

PETE: What is the priciest thing you've ever splurged on?    
CASSIDDY: Running shoes, they are an investment as Coach Rucker would say.

PETE: Do you have a secret talent?
CASSIDDY: I know all the names of the girls in our conference that are good at my events. I also know their lifetime PRs and season PRs and sometimes I can tell you what time they ran last weekend.

PETE: If you had a podcast, what would it be about?    
CASSIDDY: A true-crime podcast about unsolved crime mysteries.

PETE: What would you bring on a one-way trip to Mars?    
CASSIDDY: My big green water bottle for sure. Probably my stopwatch too.

PETE: What is your go-to home workout?    
CASSIDDY: A bodyweight circuit of some sort followed by a two-mile run.

Special thanks to Cassiddy Wilson for taking the time to chat with Pete! To view previous virtual interviews, please click here.