Alexander Lara '23 Recruiting Profile

I’ve loved running for as long as I can remember. It was in 7^th grade when I first learned that I had the opportunity to join a sport specifically devoted to running, which is when I joined my school’s Cross Country and Track teams. As much as I enjoyed the sport, I didn’t make much progress in my running ability until Cross Country of my freshman year. Unfortunately, a broken leg sustained in a race and the incoming COVID-19 pandemic meant I would not compete again until the Cross Country season of my sophomore year, which was more spent regaining my physical strength and my confidence as a runner than anything else.

My sophomore Outdoor Track season is where I began to see myself rapidly improve, running 800m and 400m times that placed me in relays consisting otherwise of Senior runners. Our team was able to win the Class M State title for the first time since 1987. My contributions to this team and my experiences running with upper-classmen greatly increased my skill and confidence. I carried this momentum into the Cross Country season that fall, where I started the season as the 7^th member of the varsity team, and ending the season consistently placing 2^nd, improving my PR by nearly a minute and a half to 17:39. I got All-Conference and All-State Honors for the first time as our team won the Class SS state title. I believe I am not done improving as a runner. I look forward to achieving my goal of making great reductions in my 5K time, as well as in Track in the coming months (spring 2022). I am grateful to be part of a historically successful Cross Country Team, which has won the Shoreline Conference 7 years straight and is over 100-0 in dual meets in that time. Perhaps my greatest attribute as a runner is my ability to perform well at both relatively long and short distances, from 400m to 5000m. Running in college would be an incredible opportunity to compete at a more competitive level and continue my love for the sport.  

https://www.zip06.com/person-of-the-week/20220727/lara-carves-out-a-path-on-the-trails-and-the-track/