Freshman Skyler Danley of the women's cross country team has been one of the top runners for the Waves this season. She tells us about the shift from high school to Pepperdine and what to look for in the last few meets of the season:
 
Q: How did you decide to come and compete for Pepperdine?
 
A: The biggest decision for me was academics. The school was really good, and I knew that that's what I wanted was a strong academic school. I also knew that the team was Division I, which is what I wanted. I liked the coach a lot and the team environment was really nice.
 
Q: How was the transition from high school cross country to the training at Pepperdine?
 
A: I didn't do nearly as many miles and the training wasn't nearly as intense before. I know over the summer when we started training, it was just like a giant increase and mileage and intensity, but it worked.

Q: How have you adjusted to this new team and new head coach?
 
A: I think really well. I love the team, everyone's super welcoming. I also love the coach, she knows what she's doing and she actually listens to us as athletes, which is super nice, so it's been pretty good.
 
Q: You have been one of the top runners this season, how have you felt about your personal performance so far?
 
A: I've been really happy. I'm running significantly faster than I did in high school, almost a minute and a half faster than I did. It also feels really good to like be with the team and train and then be able to actually compete and show off how hard I've been working.

Q: How do you feel going into the final regular-season meet?
 
A: I'm super excited. We haven't raced for almost three weeks so it's kind of got me ready to go and actually push for this one.
 
Q: What are your hopes for this upcoming meet at Santa Clara?
 
A: I want to try to run my fastest again. I've only run the 6K twice and I just want to keep improving on my times. I also want the team to come together so we can do well at conferences.
 
Q: What are you excited and/or nervous about for the conference and postseason meets?
 
A: I'm just nervous because I know that it's a big meet and super important, and I haven't been in an environment like that. I know we have done a couple big meets, but I think it's just going to be different because it's more intense. I'm definitely nervous to make sure thatI can actually perform as well as I know that I can. I'm excited to be with the team and run and challenge myself in this kind of way with a bigger environment.
 
Q: What have you learned through your freshman season thus far that you will take with you throughout your collegiate career?
 
A: I've definitely learned more about mentality. To have a strong mentality is what's going to get me through everything. I think in high school it was a little bit easier to get through workouts because they weren't as intense, but now if you go into a workout with a bad attitude, you're not going to finish, or you're just going to do terrible. I've learned how to train my mind to say, "You can do this, it's not as bad as you think it is," and that's been the biggest thing for me so far.