Papers piled high are paired with many sleepless nights. Over 400 days of studying and practicing went by. Each day of high school was accompanied with running workouts as early as 6:45 am. It lasted an extensive amount of time, but those days of studying and preparing paid off in the end when it came time for college for Stephanie Trevino.

Trevino’s cross-country career began in eighth grade, when she uncovered a love for the sport. Being part of a team was something she wanted in Junior High, and since she was good at running, she decided to join the Girl’s Cross-Country team at Antoinette Reading Junior High. After 1 year of running, she wanted to continue running through high school, so going into her freshman year of high school Trevino decided to join the Girl’s Cross-Country team at George Ranch High School.

“[Running] was something I was good at, and [I loved] the feeling I [got] after completing a workout,” Trevino stated.

When she began running freshman year, it was a change from junior high. Workouts were more intense, and mileage was longer in high school; Cross Country was more difficult than before.

“There were many times I wanted to quit.”

Despite the difficulty of the sport, Trevino worked hard. No matter what happened, injuries or bad days, Trevino stuck with the sport.

“[When] I wanted to quit, I would always think to myself [of] how [I] would feel not running. At that point I would remember that I loved running, and I could never give it up,” Trevino said.

Through perseverance, she continued to run all 4 years of high school. When it came down to the final race of the season, the team lined up at the starting line to begin the race. They were nervous, but ready to dominate. At the end of the race, the results were released. The scores were close, but George Ranch High School pulled through with a 1^st place win at Districts. As a conclusion for Trevino’s senior year Cross-Country season, her team had won the biggest meet of the season.

“It felt amazing [winning] because I was able to experience that with the best group of people I’ve ever met,” Trevino stated.

As her senior year went on, college became a more serious topic. Trevino sent in applications to colleges and applied for scholarships to numerous campuses. The process was long, but by the end of senior year she had made her choice. Trevino was not only accepted into University of the Ozarks, or U of O, but she also had the opportunity to run for their Girl’s Cross-Country team.

“At first, I didn’t want to run in college, but I was given the opportunity, so I took it,” Trevino said.

Running college Cross-Country is a different beast than running in high school because of the higher difficulty of competitions and expectations. Trevino is currently a Freshman in college, and she sacrifices sleeping in to attend daily practices and weekend meets. She also went from running 2 miles in high school to 5k races, or 3.1 miles, in college, which is a big jump for a distance runner.

Through all the difficulties, Trevino has persevered through Cross-Country and never gave up. Never giving up is important for any sport, and was critical for Trevino to become the athlete she is today.

“Running in college is so much harder than running in high school because in high school anyone could run, but in college you’re running against people who are that good,” Trevino stated.