Sarah Carvajal/The Rider
Name: Krysta Martinez
Sport: Cross-country
Classification: Freshman
Major: Kinesiology
Age: 19
Hometown: Edcouch-Elsa
Who is your favorite athlete? “[Usain] Bolt because he’s fast and motivates me to go faster. I kind of want to be like him.”
Who is your role model? “I would say my role model is [Allyson] Felix. She runs mid-distance, but she runs kind of like the way I run. I want to be like her and Bolt, you know. I want to be up there.”
What was the best advice you’ve been given and by whom? “My coaches from high school would always tell me to never give up, to keep pushing myself, and run my race.”
When did you begin running cross-country, and why? “I started my seventh-grade year. I wanted to try it out, so I got in just to get in. I saw my cousin run, so I was like, ‘I’ll try it out.’ Seventh grade, I tried out cross-country. I did good then and then just kept it up to get where I am right now.”
Did you win any awards? “I won a couple of races in junior high and high school. I got third place my senior year at state in the mile.”
What are your academic goals? “I want to do better here than I did in high school. In high school, I would get As, Bs and sometimes Cs; but here, I want to keep them all at As.”
How do you feel about being part of this team? “It feels good because the team is really motivating. They motivate us freshmen to run faster, and they help us out a lot. Running with them makes me feel like I’m running in high school again because they remind me of my team from high school.”
What are your personal goals for this season? “I want to break times like PR, and do good as a team. I just want to win conference.”
–Compiled by Sarah Carvajal
