Leaving her mark

Navajo Prep senior adds long distance running to her repertoire

AZTEC

When many see Sarah Chacon they see a distance runner, but there’s a lot more to the Navajo Preparatory School senior.

Chacon has been a star runner for the Lady Eagles in the cross-country and the track and field program since she was a freshman. She has always excelled in distance running which leaves many to think she was always a distance runner.

“When I was younger I was always a sprinter,” she said. “I never knew I was a distance runner until high school.”

Now the two-sport athlete is going back to her roots.

For the first time in her high school running career she’s incorporated distance running in her track and field season. In seasons past she’s only ran only relays and sprints, but this season she decided to give both a try and run mid distance.

Navajo Prep head coach Stephanie Zahne said it was a decision she and her assistant coaches left to the veteran runner.

“This year we sat down with her and asked her what she wanted to do, what she wanted to focus on and so she had a detailed plan set out for her for the year. That’s the plan we followed, she decided to go with the mid distance,” she said. “We decided to change what she was doing in her workouts and stuff and now we’re here.”

Chacon said she always felt more comfortable sprinting but found her niche in distance running after giving it a try her freshman year and rolled with it.

She said it was an easy transition that turned out to be more than she expected.

“Since I’ve really transitioned to distance I really like it, it’s a lot more fun that sprints,” she said. “This season, I tried it (running mid distance events) the first couple of meets and I just really liked it.”

So far, Chacon has qualified for the state track and field meet in the 400-meter dash. With the district meet left before the state meet, she looks to qualify for the 800- and the 1600-meter run, which she is two seconds away from qualifying.

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