Cross country partners break school record in season opener, running their way into the history books
The personal records of Annika Carlson and Amelia Jauregui helped Chapman University improve their top team average. Photos courtesy of Annika Carlson
It’s one thing to break the school record set in 2018; it’s another to break graduate student and fellow running partner Amelia Jauregui’s record from the season opener and gaining a personal record. Chapman University cross country runner and junior Annika Carlson not only gained a personal record after smashing Arabella Reece’s 6k record with Jauregui, but she also improved at the second meet at UC Riverside and claimed Chapman University’s 6k record.
“I will say that dropping my time and setting up (personal records) and being able to achieve the school record at some point has been a goal of mine for a while, so it is nice to feel like what I'm doing is allowing for progression,” Carlson said.
Carlson ran a 21:35.8 in the second meet, taking over Jauregui’s 21:40.2 set in the season opener. At the time of the season opener, Carlson had additionally beaten the 2018 record but followed behind her teammate with a time of 21:52.2. Now, Carlson attributes her difference of almost 20 seconds to her summer training.
Jauregui echoes Carlson and takes her experience running at her undergrad at Oklahoma State University, a Division I school into her Chapman career. Unknowingly, Jauregui had crossed the finish line in the season opener without prior knowledge of the 6k record. She acknowledges her summer training to bring some smiles.
"If you want to have success in season, it really is about summer training,” Jauregui told The Panther. “There’s this funny quote that a lot of runners like to use, ‘Summer miles bring fall smiles.’ Meaning basically, you can have success in the season if you’re willing to put in that summer training beforehand.”
“If you want to have success in season, it really is about summer training. There’s this funny quote that a lot of runners like to use, ‘Summer miles bring fall smiles.’ Meaning basically, you can have success in the season if you’re willing to put in that summer training beforehand.”
Barron Maizland, the assistant coach to Chapman’s cross country team, prepares his runners with extensive summer training to help them perform their best during the season. While also being able to tell who has completed the summer training, he looks forward to where the progression of the team can go: having the women’s team reach Nationals for the first time as a team.
“I have complete confidence in them that they are going to do the right thing,” Maizland said. “They have goals that align with their teammates’ (goals), and that’s what it takes to become a national-caliber team; it’s to all be on the same page.”
Carlson (pictured) had a time of 21:52.2 during the season opener, breaking Chapman’s record since 2018. She broke the record yet again during the second meet, she ran a 21:35.8.
Carlson and Jauregui consider running to be a team sport. Despite joining the team for the first time, Jauregui sees a running partner in Carlson. Leading the women’s cross country team through the season, both athletes not only have goals for themselves, but also a goal to help their team improve together.
“It truly is just a team effort, and having everyone being able to support each other and work hard is just a really fun place to be in,” Jauregui said. “And knowing that everyone’s happy for everyone’s success and that regardless of what happens, we are proud of the effort that we gave.”
While anybody can be a runner, it is the passion that set Carlson and Jauregui apart as Division III athletes. After improving their physical endurance, they set their sights on building a strong mentality, worthy of pushing themselves during the long distance runs. Carlson even chooses to write encouraging words on her arms while running, believing it to help her relax into the mental state she desires to run her best race.
“I write on my wrists; in some pictures, you’ll see of us racing, I’ll have writing on my wrists, which symbolizes different positive words that I can tell myself throughout the race to help me focus. It will remind myself to just breathe, or relax, or focus, or who I’m running for or what my goals are,” Carlson told The Panther.
Carlson uses this tactic as a means of support while running.
“Not necessarily because I’m going to look down and be reading them while I’m racing, but just because the process of writing it down and knowing that those things are there if I need them is comforting to me,” Carlson said.
When reflecting on her running journey, Jauregui remembers her late interest in running due to her focus on other sports, specifically gymnastics, but she inevitably decided to stick with running in university.
The struggle she faced was something she had been working to overcome. Despite her training, her statistics were not lining up with the results she had hoped. But, it was all a game-changer when she made her debut with Chapman in the season opener.
Carlson (far right) previously ran at the Division I school Oklahoma State University when she was an undergraduate there.
“(The season opener) was the first time in a long time that I felt like everything that I had worked hard for, for all the years of not (beating my own personal records), and feeling like I was so close but just not quite there yet, where I actually had a major breakthrough,” Jauregui said.
Both Carlson and Jauregui look back on their running journeys, and have learned the importance of consistency when it comes to running. Something always overlooked holds a deep importance to the runners and has taught them life lessons they hope to pass on to future generations of runners.
“The secret (to running) is just consistency and pushing yourself when you're not feeling motivated,” Carlson said. “So much easier said than done, and it does take sacrifice in other areas of your life. Knowing that, too, (is important).”
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Amelia Jauregui was located far right in the final photo. This was actually Annika Carlson. We regret the error.
“I have complete confidence in them that they are going to do the right thing. They have goals that align with their teammates’ (goals), and that’s what it takes to become a national-caliber team; it’s to all be on the same page.”
