Race of Her Life: Kayla Ferron
11/01/2016 | Cross Country/Track
TUCSON, Ariz. – Redshirt junior Kayla Ferron, from Torrance, California, has created a niche for her cross country and track career at the University of Arizona. She has contributed nicely to the team and has been a key runner on this year's No. 10 West Region ranked Arizona cross country team.
Ferron credits the California state high school meet her senior season of high school as the one that put it all together for her.
"The race of my life was that state meet my senior year because we ran it as a team," Ferron said. "I believe me and my teammates finished in sixth, ninth, and 12th and we were able to basically run together the whole time and talk to push each other to the finish. I ended up with a time of 17:58 in a 5K race"
"There is no 'I' in team" could be Kayla Ferron's slogan for her cross country career. When she is answering questions it usually starts with we instead of me.
"Kayla has definitely been a more social and supportive teammate during her time here," cross country coach James Li said. "She has had a positive role for the other girls on the team."
Don't let that fool you, however, as she is a fierce competitor on the track.
"I kind of set the tone during that race. That was when I decided I really wanted to run cross country and track in college," Ferron said. "It wasn't so much the place that I finished that I was proud of, but the mental focus that I was able to maintain throughout the race. I had a game plan going into that race and i was able to go out and execute it."
There was a little extra incentive for Ferron that day, as former Arizona assistant coach Mo Huber was in attendance to observe her race.
"Coach Mo came to watch my race and I had not committed to Arizona yet, although I had been looking at it," Ferron said. "She found me after the race and complimented me, then she asked me if I had made a decision yet. That race made it clear that Arizona was the place for me because the coaching staff showed a lot of support and I knew they cared about me and the program. It was and still is a family atmosphere."
Ferron had overcome adversity in this race as well. She had ran the whole season after being diagnosed with mononucleosis. For Ferron to race after the diagnosis was a true testament to her character.
She has kept the momentum from that race going to this day. This season Ferron has three top-15 finishes and most recently finished in fourth-place at the ASU Invitational.
Ferron will be back in action on Friday, November 11th for the NCAA Western Regional Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
Ferron credits the California state high school meet her senior season of high school as the one that put it all together for her.
"The race of my life was that state meet my senior year because we ran it as a team," Ferron said. "I believe me and my teammates finished in sixth, ninth, and 12th and we were able to basically run together the whole time and talk to push each other to the finish. I ended up with a time of 17:58 in a 5K race"
"There is no 'I' in team" could be Kayla Ferron's slogan for her cross country career. When she is answering questions it usually starts with we instead of me.
"Kayla has definitely been a more social and supportive teammate during her time here," cross country coach James Li said. "She has had a positive role for the other girls on the team."
Don't let that fool you, however, as she is a fierce competitor on the track.
"I kind of set the tone during that race. That was when I decided I really wanted to run cross country and track in college," Ferron said. "It wasn't so much the place that I finished that I was proud of, but the mental focus that I was able to maintain throughout the race. I had a game plan going into that race and i was able to go out and execute it."
There was a little extra incentive for Ferron that day, as former Arizona assistant coach Mo Huber was in attendance to observe her race.
"Coach Mo came to watch my race and I had not committed to Arizona yet, although I had been looking at it," Ferron said. "She found me after the race and complimented me, then she asked me if I had made a decision yet. That race made it clear that Arizona was the place for me because the coaching staff showed a lot of support and I knew they cared about me and the program. It was and still is a family atmosphere."
Ferron had overcome adversity in this race as well. She had ran the whole season after being diagnosed with mononucleosis. For Ferron to race after the diagnosis was a true testament to her character.
She has kept the momentum from that race going to this day. This season Ferron has three top-15 finishes and most recently finished in fourth-place at the ASU Invitational.
Ferron will be back in action on Friday, November 11th for the NCAA Western Regional Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
Sunday, June 14
Sunday, June 14
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