Madison Osborn finds her career path at Cornell

CEDAR RAPIDS — They say if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.

And Cornell junior Madison Osborn has found a career path that blends many of her interests, talents and strengths.

“At first I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” said Osborn, who is both a member of the Rams’ track and field and women’s basketball teams. “Now I’m studying physical education, so I can be a P.E. teacher.”

Osborn is sharpening her life skills through her play on the court as the point guard for Cornell and has helped lead the Rams to a 7-3 start.

“I try to be a vocal leader and keep people up if they start getting down,” Osborn said. “It’s taken some time but I feel more comfortable being a leader.”

An active child who grew up in Marion before moving to Alburnett, Osborn finds clarity in running and competes for the Rams in “anything under 400 meters.”

“I think I’ve always been a runner,” Osborn said. “I use to run around the house on my tippy toes when I was little. I just enjoy it and it’s fun to compete.”

Osborn also played softball in high school for the Pirates and spent a lot of time playing for an AAU team based in Mount Vernon which helped draw her to Cornell and their coaches she was already familiar with.

Although Osborn and the Rams only got to play four games in her sophomore season, she doesn’t currently plan on using her “extra year” to compete for Cornell after she graduates in 2023.

“I’ll be done with my major classes,” Osborn said. “I don’t want to spend money on something I don’t even need.”

Osborn knows that poking fun at gym teachers can be an easy target, but knows firsthand the knowledge needed to perform the job.

“I had to take some pretty hard anatomy courses,” Osborn said. “It’s hard to learn all of the muscles and bones, but I got through it.”

Streaks and milestones

• Coe hosted Cornell in a doubleheader that saw Osborn and the Rams extend their current win streak to four games with a 55-45 victory over the host Kohawks. Kali March and Madison Wauters led Cornell in scoring with 12 points each, with Osborn also recording a double-digit effort with 10 points.

• An American Rivers Conference rival of Coe celebrated a rare feat when Wartburg head coach Dick Peth reached his 600th career win, an 82-70 Knights victory over Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Peth collected his first 221 wins at Division II Denver before taking over for Wartburg 25 years ago.

Weekend action

• The Cornell women’s team will host Principia College (Ill.) today at 3 p.m. inside the Small Sport Center in Mount Vernon, while the men’s team will travel to Decorah for a 7 p.m. tipoff with Luther.

• The Kirkwood men will host Illinois Central at 3 p.m. on Saturday inside Johnson Hall, while the women’s team is off until they head to East Peoria for the Illinois Central Classic held Dec. 28-30.

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