Allison Reid is great at lion.
She may have been on Hofstra University’s track and cross country team, but it’s been Reid’s sworn secret that’s really kept the 22-year-old on her toes the past four years.
The East Northport runner lived a covert double life as the school’s mascot, Kate the Lioness, and was the first student-athlete to do so in decades — if ever.
“My suitemates didn’t know, teammates didn’t know, and my coach didn’t know,” Reid told The Post days after graduation.
“Nobody on campus knew.”
The exercise physiology major stole the show days ahead of getting her diploma when she dramatically revealed herself to be queen of the jungle on a viral video.
“I got a phone call from my team on FaceTime, and I picked up, and they’re screaming, ‘That was you?!’ ” said Reid, who said running a 5K in under 18 minutes was a crowning achievement.
“Fibbing to my teammates was the hardest part. They would go to some of these games and events, and I would have to say why I couldn’t go.”
Reid crossed the academic finish line and wore Kate’s massive plush sneakers as she walked at graduation to thunderous applause from students and their families.
“I decked out my cap with ‘Four years, one secret,’ ’’ she said. “Then I did a little dance on stage.”
The mane event
Although injuries limited the D-I athlete’s time on the track, Reid never let them affect her school spirit.
She took great pride in being Kate, who, along with her counterpart, Willie, is named for Hofstra’s founders.
Reid would smile in photos even though no one could see her actual face, and she learned the dance team’s moves by watching them on the basketball baseline to sync up with the squad.
Hofstra’s most dedicated — she has collaborated with the Islanders’ Sparky the Dragon and Mr. and Mrs. Met — even downloaded TikTok solely to learn antics for when elementary school students would come to basketball games.
“The pep band even gave me a tambourine to start playing with them,” she said.
Reid was thrilled to see the men’s team play in March Madness for the first time in 25 years, but couldn’t travel to the tournament site in Florida for the Pride’s game vs. Alabama due to conflicts with track.
Close calls became the norm, and Reid quickly adjusted to life as both the proverbial Spider-Man and Peter Parker, dashing from class to events and practice without a hint of suspicion.
She even pulled the wool, or rather, fur, over the men’s lacrosse team’s eyes while working as their intern.
“I would go back and forth between being their student athletic trainer and Kate,” recalled Reid, who will next get a graduate degree at Hofstra to become a trainer.
“I would go to some of their games, help set up, and then I would be like, ‘Oh, I can’t stay for the full game,’ leave, and go dress up. Being Kate was just the best.”
Kate fate
Ironically, Reid wasn’t bursting with school spirit during her days at Northport High, but instead found her leading role through destiny during her first semester.
“I was looking for a job on campus — nothing too big. This was the last thing I thought I would do,” she said.
“They said they weren’t hiring at the time, and they would get back to me if they needed someone.”
A week later, the university came calling, and Reid became hooked on the happiness she brought to Hempstead Turnpike.
“I love doing it so much, and I enjoy putting smiles on people’s faces,” she said. “I would have done it even without pay.”
As if the stars didn’t align enough, Reid was torn between running at Hofstra and Stony Brook University out of high school. She only learned later that trying to be Wolfie the Seawolf would have been a wash.
“Stony Brook has a height requirement,” said the 5-foot-5 Reid. “After I started as Kate, I was happy I came to Hofstra. This wasn’t in the plan when I was picking a school.”
And, being Hofstra’s biggest cheerleader ended up as another full-circle moment for the entire Reid family.
“My mom was picking between two names — it was Allison and Katelyn,” she said.
“So I got to live out Kate as well, which is pretty cool.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
