What sport(s) do you play?

I do cross country and track and field.

How long have you been participating in cross country and track?

I started track when I was in seventh grade and I did it all throughout high school. And then, cross country, I started eighth grade, and I did it all throughout high school also.

What made you decide to join the sport?

I joined track seventh grade because I felt I was just outta shape. I wanted to lose some weight, and I thought maybe that would be a good way. And, that’s how I joined track, and kind of just stayed in it ever since. And then cross country I joined ’cause this one kid told me to join, and I said ‘okay’ and then I just did it.

What has been your most memorable experience running track and cross country at WEGO?

Last year, we were doing track races. We had a relay race, and I was the first runner, right? And I ran and I got us up to third place, and then I watched the rest of my teammates run, and we were tryna get first, but we got second, so I was sad about that, but then I walked off the track, and I started feeling like dizzy, and I just threw up in front of everybody, and all the parents were watching. That was funny.

Who inspires you as an athlete?

One of my favorite people was George Calderon. He was a sprinter for track, and he was also the captain the year that COVID happened. He was really fast, and he was gonna go to State. We were really good friends too, and he always motivated me to workout a lot, train during the off season, lift weights, as well as running. And he really inspired me a lot.

What is something you don’t like about the sport?

One of the things I don’t like is running in general, but especially during cross country – it’s like more running than track. And track is that during the summer you have to train from the summer all the way till the fall to be in shape for the actual season. And the workouts during the summer, they’re so tiring, and you’re just constantly sweating, and you are so dehydrated, and you need to practice again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. And you just feel like crap the whole week.

What sport do you prefer cross country or track and field?

I probably prefer track, just cause I’m better at it and the races are shorter, so it just feels nice to be able to have a really fast mile or half mile and just get it over with. Cause in cross country, each race is three miles, and sometimes you’ll just feel like crap the first mile, and then like you’ll feel like that for the rest of the other two miles, and it just won’t go away. So yeah… the hills suck.