Senior Lupe Cazares raced her way to first place in the California Pacific Championship Conference (Cal Pac) last week advancing herself to Nationals for the second year in a row, and helped secure the Mills College cross country team a spot to nationals.
“This is my last year so every race this year feels like my last race,” said Cazares.
Though the Nov. 6 course was tough, with anything but ideal weather conditions, Cazares still ran with confidence. “It feels good to run in the mud and rain. It makes you feel hardcore; like, ‘Wow I’m tough!'” she said.
Sophomore Isabel Cortes, Cazares’ friend, said, “Lupe has the drive and motivation to perform well at every race. She is always willing to support and motivate others to try their best.”
Not only does Cazares succeed in athletics, she also shines in academics. “Lupe is one of the most brilliant, principled scholar-athletes I know. She excels in and outside of the classroom,” said Joi Lewis, Dean of Student Life and Vice Provost.
Abigail Orona, a senior and friend of Cazares’, said that in the past four years, “Lupe has learned to be fearless. At the rate that she is going, I believe that whatever she wants to do in life she will accomplish it.”
