Editor's Note: Each week, ArizonaWildcats.com will check in with a cross country/track and field student-athlete and chronicle the best race they have ever competed in. First up: Claire Green. 

TUCSON, Ariz. – Claire Green has been one of the bright lights for the University of Arizona's cross country team. So far this season she has raced twice, and has first and fourth-place finishes to her credit.
 
In fact, last weekend at the Roy Griak Invitational also happens to be the greatest race she has ever ran. In the 6K race in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Green clocked in at 21:52 for fourth-place out of 335 finishers.
 
This race was different for her, she knew it too. The way she prepared for it and executed was what she claimed to be the reason for her success.
 
"Something I did differently for this cross country race as opposed to those of the past was that I approached it like a track race." Green said. "My initial goal was to get out front early and try to establish my position early in the pack. That way if there was an opportunity for a break-out later in the race I would be able to take advantage and increase my chances of placing high."
 
Her head coach, James Li was extremely excited for Green as well and pleased with her performance on such a big stage. "For Claire to finish fourth was absolutely incredible, this was a great improvement from last year."
 
In the past Green, a junior from Louisville, Colorado, has tried to stay back a little bit more and try to make her push more towards the end, but that was not the case in this race.
 
Of course Green's fourth-place finish in Minnesota wasn't the first time she's thrived in a race at Arizona. She came in as a freshman and made an immediate impact on the cross country and track and field teams. She had three top-seven finishes in cross country her freshman season. Her sophomore season was where she broke out, finishing in the top-three amongst her teammates in all six of her races that season.
 
Green said she likes to make sure she is mentally relaxed before every race. In the past, she admits to sometimes overanalyzing the race before her toes step behind the line.
 
"I just tried to stay calm, hang with my girls and keep a sense of fun." Green said.
 
She also has a little bit of a superstitious attitude when it comes to her meets. "I always paint my nails a different color for every race and I was feeling really good about the color of them that day, so that definitely helped."
 
After the race Green was ecstatic but ready to move on and figure out how they as a team could improve further.
 
"The race was definitely exciting." she said. "We went out for a nice team dinner and we were really happy with how the team competed in Minnesota. We know we need to refocus on the areas that we made mistakes and improve on them, I think we could have done even better at the meet as a team."
 
Arizona finished in 11th out of 36 teams with a total of 353 points. The next time Green will be back in action is for the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Indiana on Saturday, October 15th.