By Raul Garcia Jr | The Mercedes Enterprise

Brianna Tovar began narrowing down her dream schools in the sixth grade. But she didn’t start thinking about what she wanted to study until one summer while following her father around to various professional baseball camps that she realized she wanted to focus her college studies as an athletic trainer.

“I was around sports so much I decided to get into athletic training,” Tovar said. 

Little did she know that one day she would showcase her athletic training skills on college football’s biggest stage.

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Tovar, 20, is a junior at Louisiana State University and is studying athletic training.

Recently, Tovar was awarded the NCAA  College Football Championship ring and the South Eastern Conference (SEC)Championship ring for being on the student athletic training staff of the LSU Tigers (15-0) 2019-20 season.

“I couldn’t believe that I had gotten a ring,” Tovar said. “It’s unbelievable, all the 16 hour days came to fruition at that one moment.”

Tovar was part of the LSU Tigers undefeated season which provided many memorable moments. 

She said being on the field for the rival Alabama game, setting up for the day before the National Championship game, and being on the field celebrating after winning (LSU 42, Clemson 25) are a few of those moments.

“Working with high caliber athletes, and getting to know them as “people” is my favorite part of being and athletic trainer,” she said.

Tovar will work with the mens basketball team for the 2020-21 season as an athletic trainer.

She aspires to work for the MLB or the NFL after finishing school.

Tovar is a resident of Mercedes and a 2018 graduate of IDEA College-Prep. She is the daughter of Marcos and Dianna Tovar.