Cross Country Q&A: Izabela Garcia-Arce

Senior Izabela Garcia-Arce of the women's cross country team tells us about the final meet of the season and her career -- the NCAA West Regional -- which is happening this Friday in Washington.

Q: How has the team grown throughout the season, adjusting to injuries and setbacks?

A: Our team has been really strong. At the beginning we did have some injuries on both the men's and women's side, but we were able to get most of the runners back. We had a nice solid squad of nine girls that got to compete at conference. Despite the initial injuries, I think we all came back strong.

Q: How has the team atmosphere changed?

A: This is the first year actually that we've had four runners from each class competing. We used to have a lot more underclassmen and less seniors. I think this transition shows that our program is growing and getting stronger because people are sticking around. This past season we've all grown pretty close with running every day together and being able to race with each other, which really helps.

Q: How has your role on the team shifted this season, being a senior?

A: Now that I'm a senior the leadership position is more intense. Sophomore and junior year we had an absence of seniors, so we had to grow up a little bit. I think this is the first year where it's felt really appropriate to be in charge and guide everybody since we have all this experience from the past three years. My role specifically feels more natural and I think it is, we work really well together.

Q: How did you feel about the WCC Championships a couple weeks ago?

A: WCC was kind of rough. The week before we had some pretty good PRs and pretty good times so I'm not sure if we just came in really tired or just were off. We were disappointed but I think it really fueled us up so we've been taking care of ourselves, staying hydrated and doing everything we can as runners. Hopefully regionals will show more of what we can do and what we've worked for.

Q: What are you going to take away from that meet and use to prepare for the NCAA West Regional on Friday?

A: I think it's just mindset, like when you're not doing well in the race, it can be pretty discouraging being halfway through and you're like, "man, I have like another half to go and I feel like this?" Hitting that wall last week is going to make us all stronger for the next time we hit with a really hard spot. I think mentally, it's made us tougher and I think we're also more durable.

Q: Since you are a senior and this is your last cross country meet, what does this meet mean to you?

A: This is sort of like a culmination of the past eight years of cross country for me, high school to college. It means a lot to me that I get to be there with some of my best friends. This is the first time that three seniors will be competing at regionals which is really awesome for us and I'm pretty stoked about it. I'm just going into it with an open mind, giving it everything I've got, and we'll see what comes out of it.

Q: What are your hopes for the weekend?

A: My hope is that everybody gets a PR and that we're all satisfied with our race. We've been training since May, putting in work all summer and fall, getting up really early, so I hope that everybody's really proud of themselves. I hope we all just get what we're working for.

Q: How are you going to refocus after this meet and look toward the track season?

A: I think rest is key for the next two weeks that we'll be taking off. We will be cross training but also doing some relaxing and enjoying our time. You start to miss running toward the end of two weeks and then you start back up. So again, for us it's really just kind of making sure that we take care of ourselves first and then once we're back and recharged, we always get really excited for track so it's easy to get back into it.

Players Mentioned

Izabela Garcia-Arce

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