SPRINGDALE -- Elise Reina seriously considered not even running cross country this year.
Reina chose to focus on soccer at Springdale Har-Ber and with her club team, the Arkansas Comets. That strategy paid off when Reina accepted an offer to play soccer at Kansas after high school.
All-NWA Media Girls Cross Country Runner Of The Year
Class 7A/6A
Elise Reina
School: Springdale Har-Ber
Class: Junior
Height: 5-2
Notable: Two-time state champion who won the 7A title in October with a time of 19 minutes, 11.3 seconds. … Ran for the first time in the fall when she finished 12th with a time of 18 minutes, 54 seconds at the Chili Pepper Festival in Fayetteville. … Also a soccer standout who has already committed to Kansas.
But cross country is a family tradition for Reina, who won the Class 7A state cross country championship last year as a sophomore. So, she decided to run again, beginning with the annual Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville in October.
"I had only been training two weeks before Chile Pepper, but my workouts were good," Reina said. "I was confident about it because I was still in really good shape from soccer."
Reina surprised herself by finishing 12th overall in a strong field and her time of 18 minutes and 54 seconds was her personal best for the year. Reina then went on to win the 7A-West Conference championship, and she repeated as state champion in the Class 7A State Meet at Hot Springs.
"The Chile Pepper was really a test for me," Reina said. "After that I decided, yes, I am going to run this year."
Not many runners can win a state cross country championship after competing in only two meets, but Reina is an exceptional athlete who ran regularly with her Har-Ber teammates when she wasn't competing in soccer. She also has good bloodlines as part of a racing family that includes her father, Reuben Reina, an eight-time former All-American in track and cross country at Arkansas.
"I have learned to stop underestimating what Elise can do," Har-Ber girls coach Brett Unger said. "She's an amazing athlete and a very hard worker. Her competitive spirit can't be quantified."
Reina did not run her best when she defended her state title at the cross country meet at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs. It was still good enough to outdistance the competition after she broke away from the pack at the two-mile mark.
Reina finished with a time of 19 minutes and 11.3 seconds, which was five seconds faster than second-place Kathrine Andrews of Bentonville, which won the team championship.
"The state meet was definitely not one of my better races," Reina said. "
"The pace had dropped, and I was just running to get the win."
With two state championships in her possession, Reina can now turn her attention to soccer with the Lady Wildcats in the spring. She'll likely be back next season for a shot at a third consecutive state title, but she is content in knowing she'll get to continue her soccer career at Kansas in two years.
"It's such a big relief because I'm committed, and now I can focus on soccer, knowing where I'm going to be going," Reina said. "It's not so stressful anymore."
Sports on 12/27/2014