Knights’ Mena running beyond her inexperienced years
West Holmes freshman cross country runner Iriel Mena has quickly stepped into a starring role and made her presence known, adding great depth to an already talented Lady Knights group that is seeking its fourth straight trip to state.
Freshmen aren’t often expected to step into a varsity sport and make an immediate impact, but for West Holmes freshman girls cross country runner Iriel Mena, stepping onto the course has meant taking on a leading role.
All season Mena has been leading the Lady Knights to some strong finishes, where she has helped a talented, experienced and successful Lady Knights team to the final stages of the season, where West Holmes’ hopes of returning to state for a fourth straight time are alive and well.
“This has been pretty awesome, especially since I wasn’t even sure I’d be on the varsity,” Mena said. “But here I am.”
Recently, Mena placed fourth in the Backwoods 2-Miler Invite, a 20-team outing, while grabbing runner-up in the West Holmes-hosted Nanny Goat Invitational, the Denny Stevens Invitational and the Smithville Invitational. She also grabbed a strong 13th place in the 30-team Wooster Invite that featured 302 competitors.
It has been a wild ride for the freshman who hasn’t been running for all that long.
“I only started running in seventh grade,” Mena said. “I came up playing volleyball, and some of my friends there encouraged me to go out for track, and that kind of poured over into cross country. I kind of went into cross just to improve myself for track, but I ended up falling in love with cross country in the sport.”
Mena said her vast improvement has come with a rugged offseason training program that has helped her build strength and stamina. She said everyone tends to look at in-season results and judge a runner, but her work outside of meets has set the table for success.
“Everyone thinks it’s about training during the season that counts, but it’s the offseason that matters the most,” Mena said. “It’s getting up early in the morning and putting in the miles and the training. You get up at 5 a.m. not wanting to run but still getting out there and running, in the rain or in whatever the conditions might be.”
Her goals coming into the season weren’t exactly huge. She said she didn’t think about placements or anything other than simply giving everything she has to her sport, to her team and especially to her teammates, whom she said have been instrumental in guiding her through the rigors of the sport and encouraging her along the way.
She has kept a level head with her success, saying she celebrates the strong outings, gets excited and enjoys doing well, but at the same time, she said she’s learned from her mistakes and losses and uses it all to continue to get better.
“Whatever happens, you have to just reset for the next race and learn from what you’ve experienced,” Mena said.
She also said every race matters, especially when they all add up to the end of the season when she and her teammates are competing for another spot in the state tournament.
“Ultimately, that’s where we all want to be,” Mena said of the hopes of qualifying for state as a team.