Samantha Budd Signs Intent to UNC Wilmington

When Samantha Budd arrives on the campus of the University of North Carolina Wilmington she expects to be a big part of the school’s track team.

However, when it came time for Budd—a senior at —to choose the destination for which she will be spending the next chapter of her academic life, she did so by taking track out of the equation.

“It definitely wasn’t any easy choice,” said Budd after signing her letter of intent Friday afternoon. “It was between High Point and UNC Wilmington, and I kind of stopped and took track out of play, and thought about what if track wasn’t there. I thought about what school would suite me better socially and academically."

Wilmington had another perk as well.

“It’s right near the beach, and I love the beach,” said Budd. “I surf all the time, so that’s definitely a plus for the school.”

Budd intends to major in exercise science for the next four years before moving on to get her doctorate in physical therapy.

“The whole makeup of the body and running and finding out why the body responds certain ways to certain workouts interests me,” Budd said. “I would like to be able to go and help people when they are injured.”

Budd became familiar with UNC Wilmington’s track program through a former competitor. Haddon Heights graduate Rachel Quinn competes for the university and has stayed in touch with Budd, helping to recruit her. Once she made the visit, she was able to talk to the head coach and found out he too, likes the science involved with running.

“Hopefully he can give me a lot of information on the 800 to help me get better,” Budd said.

Budd is coming off a tremendous winter track season that saw her emerge as one of the state’s top 800 runners. Last weekend she traveled to New York City for the New Balance Indoor National meet and competed against some of the best runners in the East Coast.

“That was awesome,” Budd said. “I didn’t run the time I wanted—I ran a 2:23 and I had run a 2:18 at the Meet of Champions a few weeks ago, but it was an awesome experience. There were so many people there and I think anybody who has the chance to go to Nationals should definitely go.”

Budd still has plenty of motivation to finish out her spring track season with a bang. She is currently slated to receive $2,000 in scholarship money per year, but that total can increase if Budd’s 800 time drops before season’s end.

Needless to say, her parents will be rooting for those seconds to drop.

“I’m looking forward to the spring season, so hopefully I can get some more scholarship money,” she said.