This track season has included several outstanding performances from freshman Gizelle Arias.
Her events are the 100, 200, and 4×100 relay. Her times have been unbeatable this season by any of our women athletes this season, and she’s only getting better. Arias’ personal record is currently 28.25 seconds in the 200-meter, which is 3 to 4 seconds faster than anyone else on the team. One of her main events is also the 4×100. She is the first leg on the team; this leg is very important because it is what gives the team a head start. The 4×1 team has competed at Don Green Invitational, Marie Smith Malibu invitational, and all of our league meets against the citrus coast.
Ms. Alejandra Sandoval, who is the head coach for the girls track team, is only working harder to get this athlete to her ultimate ability. Arias’ biggest strength on the track, according to her coach, is that “she is coachable.”
A big struggle with athletes is trying to remove bad habits, but that’s not the case with Arias.
“You tell her to adjust her form and she is successful everytime,” Coach Sandoval said. This is one of the main reasons she’s such a good starter in the 4×100: her handoffs are smooth and she’s able to adjust perfectly to her teammates
Arias says the most important thing she learned this season is “leaving mistakes in the past and knowing you can’t always win but improving will give you that victory.”
Track and field has been declared one of the most mental sports, which isn’t easy. While running, she always reminds herself that “the guilt of not working hard lasts longer than sore muscles.” Apart from track she is also on the varsity soccer team.
Her dad’s side of the family are runners and competed at CI on the track and cross country team. Part of this is what led her to join and follow her family’s footsteps in being a runner—in her words, her “inspiration.”
