Service Credit Union Student-Athlete Spotlight: Cayla Barretto and Jackson Pierson

By Isabella Geskos
Special to UNHWildcats.com

This week's Service Credit Union Student-Athlete Spotlight features women's cross country and track and field senior Cayla Barretto and men's hockey junior Jackson Pierson.

Cayla is a Nursing major from Woburn, Mass. She is a member of the Wildcat cross country team and a distance runner for the track and field team. As a sophomore she was a part of the winning Track and Field Distance Medley Relay at the America East Championships. Her junior year Cross Country season she was named to the All-Conference Second Team for her 11th place finish at the America East Championship meet. Both her sophomore and junior year, Barretto was named to the America East XC All-Academic Team.

Jackson is a Business major from Zionsville, Ind. He is a forward on the men's hockey team. He made his debut as a Wildcat right out of high school in the 2018-2019 season. As a freshman he was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Week, and was the sixth ranked scorer on the team. His sophomore year he had two four-game point streaks and ranked second on the team in assists. As a junior, he currently leads the team with 15 assists, 23 points while he is second with eight goals. He was just recently named a semifinalist for the Walter Brown Award.

Let's find out more about these two outstanding student-athletes!

Q&A WITH CAYLA:

How have you been able to balance being a Division I athlete and being a nursing major?

Throughout my time at UNH, time management has been important. I try to get good sleep and stay focused on what I need to accomplish each week. There have been times where things get overwhelming, but I have a big support system to keep me going. Coach Hoppler has been a big part of why I am able to be successful in both areas. He has empowered me to get some runs in on my own around my nursing schedule.

This past year has been challenging for everyone, but you've been on the front line as a nursing student, how has seeing this pandemic close up impacted you?

The pandemic has impacted the lives of everyone and has put everyone through their own hardships. I think being a nursing student has allowed me to feel as if there is something, I can do to help lessen the burden. While in the hospitals, patients can't see their families, so it feels good to be there for them. I've seen a lot of nurses step up and go the extra mile. It makes me proud to be joining the profession soon.

Coach Hoppler named you as one of the runners to watch this Cross Country and Track season and expressed how great of a captain you've been through this past year, what does that mean to you?

I think its surreal to think that I'm the upperclassman now. I have been teammates with a lot of strong women who have taught me how to be a tough competitor. Hearing this from Coach Hoppler gives me confidence I can have this kind of impact on my teammates.

Where have you been challenged this past year as a captain?

The biggest challenge this year is the time I've spent away from the team. I love running because of camaraderie so training on my own has posed a challenge. It also is hard to keep the team focused together. We all have so much going on in our own lives, so we've had to work harder to stay connected.

I know you run the "ladycatpack" account, what's been your favorite part of doing that?

I love catching big race moments or work outs on camera. There's a lot of hardworking women on the team and I love being able to have a platform to highlight that. They each deserve their own place to shine, and the page gives me a chance to show what they have accomplished.

OFF THE COURSE WITH CAYLA:

Go to hype-up song? Levitating by Dua Lipa
Favorite movie? Grease
Bachelor or Bachelorette? Bachelor (Matt James if you're reading this I love u)
Favorite study spot on campus? The quiet room in the library- the big windows are so pretty
Any pre-meet superstitions? Not really, I just like to listen to music and get in the zone
Favorite sports team? The New Balance running teams (Boston and Boss Ladies)
Coffee order? I usually do a French vanilla ice coffee. It's a staple of race day.
Favorite UNH Class? Disease & Drugs. I enjoyed learning about how certain medications work in our bodies and the side effects they may have.
Best TV show ever? New Girl is underrated

Q&A WITH JACKSON:

Coming from an athletic background, how easily did hockey come to you at a young age?

I wouldn't say it came easily; my parents allowed me to try any sport that I wanted so I played just about everything growing up. Hockey was the one that was the most fun for me, so I stuck with it.

You've been credited with having a strong grasp on the mental side of hockey, how has that mindset contributed to your success at the elite college level?

I think being mentally strong is super important at this level and it is something we talk about as a team a lot. I think watching hockey and studying what the guys at the NHL level are doing and then adding that into your game can be super impactful.

Why is Kobe Bryant your role model?

I think Kobe Bryant defined what it means to give everything to your sport and he was probably the hardest working athlete during his time. He was just an athlete that was super easy to look up to and model after because he did all of the little things right and outworked everyone else and never took no for an answer.

Now that you're on the back half of your college hockey career, what's the dream? Feel free to elaborate.

The dream is to win a Hockey East Championship and a National Championship. I think just about every athlete playing college hockey would agree with me on that.

What has been your most memorable moment (on or off the ice) at UNH?

Our trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland last year was really special. It's a trip that not a lot of people get to make in their lifetime and to be able to play a tournament over there was super cool.

OFF THE ICE WITH JACKSON:

Stilling's food or HoCo's food? - Stilling's
Favorite TV show? – Entourage
Coffee order? – Black hot coffee with milk and sugar
Favorite place to study? – My room
Go to hype-up song? – Forever by Drake, Kanye west, Eminem, Lil Wayne
Favorite sports moment? – Blackhawks winning three Stanley Cups in six years
Best TV show ever? – Breaking Bad
Favorite UNH class? – Business Stats
Any pregame superstitions? – The only one is I put my stick in the same place in the locker room before the game.
Favorite Holiday? – The Fourth of July – Independence Day

Check back each week to get to know two more Wildcats as part of the Service Credit Union Student-Athlete Spotlight. Thank you to Service Credit Union for sponsoring the Student-Athlete Spotlight.

Previous 2020-21 Student-Athlete Spotlights:

Ava Schroeder (Women's Lacrosse) & James Wilkes (Men's XC & Track and Field)
Kaja Sandsten (Women's Skiing) & Jonny Wolf (Men's Soccer)
Paige Edmier (Swimming & Diving) & Josh Hopkins (Men's Basketball)
Maddie Truax (Women's Ice Hockey) & Scott Schulz (Men's Skiing)
Héléna Delarulle (Women's Basketball) & Filip Engarås (Men's Ice Hockey)
Isabelle Danahy (Field Hockey) & Nate Hobbs (Men's Track and Field)
Sarah Williams (Women's Track and Field) & Alejandro Robles (Men's Soccer)
Casey Peterson (Women's Soccer) & Jordan Buckmire (Men's Track and Field)
Haley Lui (Gymnastics) & Linus Fallberg (Men's Soccer)
Julia Neyland (Women's Lacrosse) & Brian Carter (Football)
Grace Middleton (Women's Hockey) & Charlie Kelleher (Men's Hockey)
Lisa Olsson (Women's Ski) & Nick Guadarrama (Men's Basketball)
Kate Bilyeu (Women's Volleyball) & Patrick Kenney (Men's Skiing)
Faith Bonett (Women's Basketball) & Angus Crookshank (Men's Ice Hockey)
Ava Boutilier (Women's Hockey) & Aidan Sullivan (XC/Track & Field)
Bloem van den Brekel (Field Hockey) & Jacob Gould (Men's Soccer)

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