A young lady who is 5’2, and weighs only 95 lbs. runs more than 20 miles weekly. Sophomore Sol Saenz will occasionally run faster than most of the varsity boys at practice, and she is the youngest female runner in cross country to advance from districts to regionals.

Sol should have been on the varsity team last year, however Sol is a part of the Center for Health Professions program. Sol’s homeschool is not Bel Air, so she had to compete at the junior varsity level for one whole year.

“During the time I wasn’t able to compete at the varsity level, I made sure to do everything I could in order to do good for the following years. Everything I do, I make sure to give it my all because when I’m old I may not even be capable of running.”

Sol has not gone a day without running since the beginning of seventh grade. “I’m confused when people complain about their coach making them run as a punishment. I love to run, so when they complain about running as a punishment, I think to myself that they are extremely lucky to run as a punishment,” Sol said. As a result every time her friends complain about running as a punishment, she becomes very angry and yells at them.

A huge motivator is her mother and little sister. Both her mother and little sister, Celeste have not missed one competition that Sol has competed in.

“We all have those days where we feel like doing nothing, and whenever those days hit me, I think about my mom and sister because they have always been there for me. I know that one day they will be so proud of me, and until that day I will not stop,” Sol said. Sol hopes not only to get first place at state, but to run at the university level.

Many of Sol’s teachers are proud of her, such as Sarah Puckett, who teaches the Health Science class for freshmen and sophomore students.

“Sol is the definition of the word ‘girl.’ A girl is someone who not only knows that she is capable of doing anything, but actually does it. Sol is a hard-working and dedicated young lady. I know that whatever she wishes to do will be in her favor because she’s won’t stop until she gets what she wants,” Puckett said.

By Christian Hernandez