You might describe sophomore exercise science major Josh Sutterfield as a quiet storm and a leading example of what it means to be self-motivated and humble.
Sutterfield, who is referred to as “Bootsy” by his teammates, didn’t start out as a cross country runner.
Goaded by the dislike of his soccer coach, Sutterfield quit the soccer team in high school and started running cross country.
“I decided to run cross country because I was always faster than most kids,” Sutterfield said.
Although his father, Dennis Sutterfield, played soccer in high school, he still supported his son’s decision.
“I knew he understood where I was,” Sutterfield said. “He encouraged me and helped me out though all of it.”
This is one of the reasons why Sutterfield looks up to him. His father is a hard worker and continues to motivate him.
“He did so much with his life and he’s done so many different things,” Sutterfield said. “Whether it’s changing jobs or what he did in athletics, he’s always inspired me”.
It has been four years since Sutterfield began to run cross country and he is determined to go strong in his next two years at Cabrini.
When cross country coach Tom O’Hora met Sutterfield, he saw that Sutterfield had a lot of potential.
“He leads by example,” O’Hora said. “He works hard every day and tries to show up for practice on time and ready to go.”
O’Hora hopes that Sutterfield’s good habits will rub off on his teammates.
“I think because he [Josh] does that, you’re more likely to have other people do the same because they want to be as good as he is,” O’Hora said.
Sutterfield missed the first four weeks of the season his freshman year because of his foot injuries. After hurting both of his feet, he had to wear boots for four weeks. This is where he picked up the nickname “Bootsy.”
This season was similar because he came down with a case of mononucleosis and could not practice with the rest of the team. Still, Sutterfield pushed through and helped the team finish in first place at the Cheyney State University Invitational in October.
He also was chosen as the Cabrini Athletics Student-Athlete of the Week for the week of Oct. 2-9. Sutterfield is very grateful for the honor and said it pushes him to do better.
Jeff Young, junior political science major, first met Sutterfield in August 2010 on the first day of training camp for cross country.
“I was expecting there to be more guys but it ended up being just me and Josh as the whole men’s cross country team,” Young said.
Young and Sutterfield became good friends and began pushing each other to do their best at practice as well as at meets.
For the most part, Sutterfield is a laid back guy who likes to eat, sleep and hang out with friends and family in his spare time. Sutterfield has three younger siblings: Hanna, Julia and Simeon.
Sutterfield and his family play sports together as well as watch them. They like to go back to his high school, Spring-Ford High School in Royersford, Pa., to watch the Rams play.
“We go to a lot of my high school’s events whether it’s basketball, football, soccer or lacrosse,” Sutterfield said.
Sutterfield is a humble and inspiring person that people look up to. He’s serious about running and continues to improve everyday. Whenever he comes up against obstacles he takes them head on, no matter what.
“Last year I fell in the middle of the race and got mud all over my uniform, just completely fell and embarrassed myself,” Sutterfield said. “I just hopped up and kept on going.”
