On Friday, October 25 the girls and boys cross country team set off to compete at the Class B State Championship. The Tigers had outstanding results with the boys placing fourth as a team and the girls placing seventh as a team. However, one runner stood out from the rest of them.
Junior Chelsey Espinosa was the first girl to cross the finish line with a personal best of 19:33.21. She is the first girls champion from Hastings High since 1985. Last year she placed fourth in the state championship, but this year her expectations were different.
“I expected myself to go out and compete not just for myself, but more importantly for the team. This is what I always expect myself to do, and I didn’t believe it would have been right to change that expectation just because of the state meet,” Espinosa said.
She also made sure to not focus too much on winning, although she knew she had a great chance after constantly placing first at meets. She doesn’t view that as a reasonable goal.
“I never set a goal to win any meet simply because if you don’t win, it’s easy to say your whole race was a bust instead of looking at the positives,” Espinosa said.
Leading up to her big day, Espinosa didn’t do anything special and her rituals stayed about the same.
“This week leading up to state pretty much consisted of a workout, mileage and pre-meet. The only thing I can say is a ritual for me is the prayer I say as I’m preparing for the course in appreciation for God,” Espinosa said.
The day of a state competition is usually very nerve-wracking for athletes, but some athletes are able to use those nerves to fuel themselves.
“(The day of state) I was feeling pretty calm with occasional nerves, of course, but those nerves were more for the right reasons than the wrong. Our coach always tells us that if we’re nervous that’s okay because it shows that we care,” Espinosa said.
Some cross country runners have running strategies since a 5k is considered a long distance event. However, for Espinosa it’s much simpler than that.
“I didn’t really have a running strategy. It was pretty much just go out, compete and have an open mind that anything can happen,” Espinosa said.
She can’t remember too much about how she felt after the race, except that she felt out of breath. Although, she did reflect afterward on how much her team helped her to get where she is now.
“The team helped in every aspect. The team pushed me while also making it fun, which helped me appreciate the sport so much more because it’s more about what happens behind the scenes,” Espinosa said.
The future looks good for Espinosa as she’s only a junior. Look for her and the cross country team next season!
