Their names are peppered throughout sports history—Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, Jim Thorpe, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Lolo Jones and Marion Jones. They are multi-sport athletes that took their talents to the world's stage and achieved success at the highest level.

There are several factors that attribute to someone's success in being a multi-sport athlete—raw athletic talent, desire to compete at the highest level, hard work and dedication to the craft and simply the love of sport itself. Other factors in being a multi-sport athlete that should also be taken into account range from—immense wear and tear on the body, physical and mental fatigue and career burnout.

Sanders, who was a dual sport standout for both the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Braves, once made a unique double dip by playing in both an NFL game for the Falcons and the National League Championship Series for the Braves on the same day. "Both of them were important," said Sanders of the games. "Both games were important. It's a game. There's fans. There's teammates. There's family. Everything. Every time you compete, it's important."

Salem College has eight student-athletes competed in multiple sports over the course of the 2019-20 season—Rachel Black, Maria Ferrer, Emily Inman, Hope Morrison, Corrin Shores, Lauren Holman, Amy Stutzer and Isabella Verdicchio. Over the course of the next two weeks we are going to analyze the careers of Salem's multi-sport athletes.

ISABELLA VERDICCHIO

The eighth and final installment of the series analyzing Salem's multi-sport athletes that competed during the course of the 2019-20 season looks at contributions of first-year Isabella Verdicchio.

Verdicchio began her collegiate cross country career at the Fleet Feet XC Invitational on Sept. 7, 2019, crossing the line 80th in a time off 34:47.0. Two weeks later, at the USA South Preview in Rocky Mount, N.C., she posted a time of 37:26.6 and closed in 51st.

The Pittsboro, N.C., native returned to the cross country course on Oct. 12, 2019, and concluded the Livingstone Invitational in a time of 34:49.72 as Salem finishing seventh overall in the event. Verdicchio put the finishing touches on her first year in cross country at the USA South Championships, on Nov. 2, 2019, with a time of 38:56.55.

After competing in cross country in the fall, Verdicchio transitioned to lacrosse. She played and started in all six games for the Spirits in the abbreviated season, finishing with one shot, one free position shot and a shot on goal.

Verdicchio's lacrosse season culminated with her winning the Most Improved Player award, which came by virtue of a vote from her teammates. "She consistently brought a positive attitude to practice and games, and has a deep desire to spend her free time getting better at lacrosse," said head coach Emma Rose. "She has improved dramatically as a lacrosse player and stepped up to run the midfield when we needed her too. Her skills are constantly improving, and although Bella chose to play lacrosse, we are pretty sure the sport chose her back!"

Verdicchio recently discussed competing in both cross country and lacrosse at Salem in her first year and provided the following answers:

How has being a multi-sport athlete been advantageous to you when competing against others?

Verdicchio: Being a multi-sport athlete has helped me to learn how to compete against different people in very different situations. Cross country helps me to be independent and strong in who I am as an individual when competing. It helps me to push myself and work through things on my own. Lacrosse helps me do the opposite, it helps me to put my individual needs aside and lift my team up in competition. These things help me when competing against others because it helps me to know who to compete against and who to work with. I have learned that if you compete against your teammates you won't get nearly as far as if you work together with them.

What is the most difficult thing about transitioning between sports and sport seasons as a multi-sport athlete?

Verdicchio: The most difficult thing transitioning is that you switch from long twitch muscles, running at least three miles at a time, to fast twitch muscles, sprinting a short field. This is a hard switch and I basically have to start from scratch building the proper muscles. I also find it hard to transition to running with a stick in my hands and having to think about cradling the ball while running. When running long distances, I zone out and my mind goes blank, or I'm thinking about total nonsense. When playing lacrosse, I have to stay focused the entire game and think about hand placement and where I need to be to support my teammates.

Obviously anyone who is playing multiple sports loves to compete at the highest level. Describe a little bit where your competitive nature comes from when you compete?

Verdicchio: I think that my competitive nature comes from being one of four children. We didn't necessarily have to compete for anything but of course we all did. My little sister especially was always so competitive and it made us all more competitive because beating the competitive one is always fun.

Who is someone (or possibly a number of people) that you find motivation from as an athlete or possibly even a non-athlete (ex: parent, grandparent, relative)?

Verdicchio: I find my parents to be very motivating. They were the people who got me started in running long distance and have encouraged me greatly along the way. Both of my parents have run countless marathons, half marathons, and have even completed half ironman together. They persevere through whatever is thrown at them and never give up on anything or anyone.

What is your most memorable moment in each sport that you have competed at while at Salem and why?

Verdicchio: My most memorable moment in cross country at Salem was with Coach Q who was filling in for the week. we were running on the greenway and she looked over and said "is that normal". Me being the oblivious person I am was zoned out basically sleep running and I looked up to see what she was talking about and all the goats were eating away at the kudzu. This to me was hilarious because it was a total runner's moment of being zoned out and only looking at where I was going, not really what was around me.

For lacrosse there are so many amazing memories from just the half a season we were able to complete. I think my favorite memory was the game that we won. It wasn't a game that I played the whole time or scored a goal in but being a part of that and getting to see everyone so happy was a wonderful experience.

How does competing in cross country help you in bettering your game on the lacrosse field?

Verdicchio: Cross country helped me to be able to run for the entire game because I am used to running for long periods of time.

Additionally, how does playing lacrosse benefit you when you are competing in cross country?

Verdicchio: Lacrosse will greatly benefit me in cross country because it got me into the best shape I have probably ever been in. The intense workout schedule and continuous exertion really helped to get us all in shape.