Most mornings, Kelsie Peters' alarm rings at 5:20 a.m. Within 40 minutes, she's already lifting weights, and by 7:45 a.m. she's on the field for softball practice. That's just a typical day for student-athletes studying nursing, health sciences and exercise science. The simple reason Peters and Flickinger challenge themselves to balance both academics and athletics is that they are passionate about their profession and they thrive on competition.