A Selfless Leader - University of New Hampshire Athletics

By Molly McAteer
Special to UNHWildcats.com

As a captain of the UNH women's cross country and track and field teams, Cayla Barretto (Woburn, Mass.) was a selfless leader who always thought of the team first. She is also selfless off the track as a nurse.

Barretto just concluded her graduate season, which included working one to two 12-hour shifts a week during the school year as a nurse at Elliot Hospital in the cardiac intermediate care unit, while also being a student-athlete.

Barretto's journey to becoming a nurse is a little different compared to others. She started her freshman year at UNH as a nutrition major, but then realized she wanted to study something that showed the big picture of health.

"I definitely wanted to be in a profession where I was helping people and I thought nutrition was my answer to that. Nutrition kind of felt like only a small important part of that, I wanted the whole picture of the patient."

Barretto accomplished her undergraduate clinical hours at Elliot Hospital on the cardiac intermediate care unit. After her clinicals, Elliot offered her a job as a nurse working on the floor.

Being a graduate student-athlete and a nursing major, Barretto followed a very busy and diverse schedule which included working at the hospital and taking classes online as well as being a leader of the cross country and track and field teams.

Working 12-hour shifts and being a captain, Barretto learned various life lessons that she took with her in the hospital and on the track.

"Time management in both areas has been a big lesson for me. I must prioritize which patient I am going to see first, who needs what and who can wait. Through being a student-athlete, it was prioritizing homework, sleeping and training."

Barretto had an outstanding athletic career at UNH. She was a two-time America East Track and Field champion as a member of the 4x800 meter relay team at the 2021 America East Outdoor Championships and as a member of the distance medley relay team at the 2018 America East Indoor Championships. She also won a New England Outdoor championship in 2019 with the 4x800 meter relay team.

On the course, she earned Second Team All-Conference honors by placing 11th at the 2019 America East Cross Country Championships as the Wildcats won the team title. Her academic accolades are just as impressive as a member of the America East All-Academic Team, America East Commissioner's Honor Roll and National College Athlete Honor Society.

Cayla Barretto with the 2019 America East Championship Trophy

But even more important than her athletic accomplishments, Barretto made a huge impact on the program as a leader.

"Cayla was one of the best captains and leaders I have coached in my 30-year career," said Robert Hoppler, the director of track & field and cross country at UNH. "She was a captain before and during COVID, and her leadership was so invaluable during that time. She is one of the few track athletes that are team first and individual second. Cayla is very selfless. But at the same time she was an All-Conference and conference champion athlete. With her graduating, she will be missed profoundly."

Despite her success, running has not always been Barretto's number one passion.

"In high school I wanted to do anything but run. I was playing soccer for the longest time and then in middle school my gym teacher was always telling me I should run track."

Soccer reached an end during her senior year when Barretto noticed her potential with running in college.

"My junior year of high school I started buying into the idea. I made the decision to quit soccer for my senior year and run cross country instead. I think that's when it really came together. I was training for a full year of running and was getting better every day."

Starting the recruiting process, Barretto first came to UNH to watch a cross country meet and fell in love with the team atmosphere and coaching philosophies.

"I got to meet with Coach Hoppler and a lot of what he was saying about how he really instills this priority system of how it is your academics, your health and then comes running. That system resonated with me a lot. If you're not happy and healthy you're not going to run fast."

Cayla Barretto with teammates Lily Doody (Left) and Nicole Yeomans (Right)

Looking back on her collegiate career, her senior year was a year to remember.

"For a long time, I was trying to break a five-minute mile and last year I finally did. It was one of those moments where I could see all the training paying off."

Barretto looked up to her past teammate Shannon Murdock, who made a hectic schedule seem easy.

"She was a nursing major and similarly got her undergraduate degree in nursing. She ran very fast and handled it all super well while also being captain. I learned a lot from her and I tried to emulate how she conducted herself."

After running in college for five years, discovering her passion for nursing and leading her team to success, Barretto shared advice to other student-athletes on how to succeed in and out of athletics.

"A lot of times, especially in running, you see athletes trying to force it. Ask for help, there are plenty of resources in the field house. Your coaches, friends and family all want to help you. I've learned to be kinder with myself. Not every workout, running pace or homework assignment needs to be perfect. It will all come together. You don't need to stress about the little things. "

With her time as a student-athlete now concluded, Barretto continues to work as a registered nurse at Elliot Hospital in the cardiac intermediate care and is looking forward to what the future has in store for her.

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