Alissa Moreno Brawley Union High cross country
AGE 15 | SCHOOL Alissa Moreno | GRADE 10th
BRAWLEY — After a rigorous summer training schedule, the Brawley Union High cross-country team opened the 2017 season with improved times in the first two meets of the year.
On Saturday, the team competed at the annual Southwest High Invitational at Sunbeam Lake with Alissa Moreno taking first place in the girls’ freshman/ sophomore race and finished second overall with a time of 20:01.8.
The 15-year-old credited her coaches with helping her drop time and said she’s looking forward to working toward finishing future races in the 19s.
“They kept track of our time over the summer and we trained really hard,” Moreno said. “They’d reduce our breaks in between and slowly we started getting faster.”
This is the sophomore’s second year on the team and she said she was happy to see her time improve.
“I didn’t know I’d gotten second overall,” she explained. “I thought maybe I’d finished in the top four, so I was really happy.”
On Saturday, the Wildcats will compete at the Cibola invite and Moreno said she is looking forward to competing against the host school once again.
My Favorites What do you enjoy most about your sport?
Reaching the finish line. Just that feeling you get when you cross the line and your coach and teammates tell you that you did a good job.
What is one of your more memorable moments in your sport?
Last year when we competed at CIF. That was our first one and it was fun getting to be there with my teammates.
Who inspires you and why?
My coach Meg. She runs with us every day and she’s also a nurse, so she’s always giving us good advice.
What are your goals for the rest of this season?
I’m hoping to get into the 19s and stay up there for the rest of the season and not get injured.