Going the Distance ... Samantha Enriquez

One of the first experiences that I remember with Samantha Enriquez was pulling her off the course at the Great American meet in Alabama because she was too injured to go any further. Tears of sadness of course followed, but not so much from the pain that Sam was experiencing, but the pain of what could be- what should be.
Sam was dubbed early on as a competitor. She was going to make her mark on our team early leading her coaches to believe she would be a freshman starting varsity. What became obvious as her freshman season and each season progressed after was that running for Sam was not going to be marked with the varsity experience we had hoped. Instead, it was going to be marked with enduring pain plagued with injuries and frustrations over what she should be achieving.

The battles and adversities a cross country runner faces are present even when there is no injury to report. The searing heat of August , September and October never make the sport all too appealing to most. The effort it takes to train for three miles is what some would assume is more like training for a marathon. The long hours, early mornings and Saturday meets would be sure to knock anyone down who is constantly working through injury and illness.

But not Sam.

Through it all, Sam remains steadfast in her efforts to improve, to run faster- heck, just to finish a season healthy is considered a success. In her senior year her personality has shown that it is the smiles she provides for others, her willingness to improve and her desire to remain a part of a team that makes her a true success story in our program.