THE JOURNEY

TheJourneyUp

andDownHills

A Varsity Cross Country Experience

ARTICLE, PHOTOS & DESIGN BY CHELSEA NGUYEN

At the fnal mile of her last league meet, senior Jovita Mi found motivation to sprint towards the fnish line by asking herself how deeply she yearned to qualify for Central Coast Section (CCS), her goal since sophomore year.

Mi’s hard work in the meet resulted in her being one of the two UPA cross country athletes eligible for CCS since she placed No. 12 out of 49 female runners with a timed run of 23 minutes and 38.1 seconds at the Crystal Springs Course. “This year, I took the meets very seriously [because] I didn’t want to miss any opportunities to improve and get new personal records,” Mi said.

Her passion for running sparked at an early age, and she began practicing for team tryouts her sophomore year.

This school year, Mi became one of the four senior captains on the UPA cross country team. There are two male and two female captains since the meets are categorized by gender, but the team trains together.

Coach Eugenia Rendler gave Mi the position of co-captain because of her consistency and organization skills, such as constantly practicing during the off-season and organizing the annual cross country sweatshirts.

“Every year, she sets herself a new goal and she’s our fastest girl runner,” Rendler said.

At meets, Mi competes against her teammates and athletes from the league, but maintains a positive attitude because the athletes are running the same trail and experiencing a similar mentality.

She memorizes the entire course, so she knows where to use and conserve her energy.

“My favorite thing about cross country is the sportsmanship because even if you’re on a different team and you’re running with someone for the whole trail, you develop a bond and you feel each other’s pain,” Mi said.

In the penultimate meet, Mi achieved a new personal record of a minute faster than any meet she previously ran and placed ffth in the girls’ varsity cross country section.

“There wasn’t one moment when I thought to slow down, to catch my breath or rest,” Mi said. “When I felt tired, I ran faster to prove to myself I can still do it.”

Senior Meera Zalavadia, Mi’s co-captain for the girls’ varsity cross country team, has seen Mi’s journey through the sport in the past three years and the improvement in her timed runs.

“Without willpower, running is impossible.”

“She has defnitely gotten faster and her work ethic has grown be- cause she practices a lot over the weekend and she prepares a lot for each meet,” Zalavadia said.

Running has increased Mi’s dedication and self-motivation because it requires an extensive amount of physical and mental strength that forces her to run faster and fnish the meets.

In addition to UPA practices after school, Mi trained at her local gym and park and researched the 2018 CCS records to aim for a quali- fcation for California state championships.

“I prepared myself mentally [for CCS] by assuring myself that I could do it,” Mi said. “I just wanted to do my best and made the most out of the last time I competed on the Crystal Springs course.”

On Nov. 16, Mi competed at CCS, placing No. 43 out of 49 female runners, with a timed run of 26 minutes and 3.74 seconds for 2.8 miles. She was surrounded by competitive athletes, who she thought lacked sportsmanship.

“Running [at] CCS taught me running truly takes both mental and physical strength because [I had to strengthen] my muscles and endur- ance for three whole months,” she said. “Without willpower, running is impossible.”

Photos: Jovita Mi (12) trained for CCS with teammate Emma Fulton (9) by doing leg exercises, warm-ups, and laps around the parking lot near the amphitheater and Cathedral of Faith. She wore a pink Kinesio Tex Tape to prevent pain from running with shin splints.