Jayla Espinosa is a freshman on the girls’ varsity soccer team who has joined track and field this year to improve her speed.

“I have only been in track and field for a few days and I can already see improvements, track is keeping me motivated and it is a great environment,” Espinosa said. “It is not the only sport I play, I also play soccer.”

Espinosa’s main goals this year are to really increase her endurance so she is able to maintain a faster speed while on the soccer field. She has just joined the team but is keeping up just fine. It can be tough to join a new sport late into the season but the whole team has been very welcoming. 

“My favorite part about track so far is probably the people,” Espinosa said. “The coaches can be tough at times but all the students on the team are really nice and encouraging.”

This year students are still going to meets and doing everything that they usually would. They are having meets weekly and training for them so they can do their best.

“At the practice before meets we will usually run one mile for a warm up, stretch, and then we do our thing for the day,” Espinosa said. “The thing for the day will usually just be some running drills to improve our speed and try the different distances.”

Track and field may not be Espinosa’s main sport but that doesn’t mean the practices are going to be easier than her others. The coaches are pushing her to her limits at practices and are always wanting her to do better. 

“Practices are hard, but fun and are good at pushing you,” Espinosa said. “I was originally a sprinter when I joined the team but now that they have seen me run they have put me in long distance because they believe it will challenge me more. I am still doing short distance but they have started putting me with the long distance kids so I can build up my endurance so I can eventually be good enough to compete long distance in meets.”