HUMBOLDT ? Elizabeth ?Lulu? Melendez has taken the Humboldt High cross country scene by storm. Despite being a freshman, Melendez is the Lady Cubs? fastest runner who began training as a middle-schooler.
Current Crest head coach, Kaitlyn Dispensa, worked with Melendez during the seventh-grade track season. Dispensa said that Lulu started out in the 15-minute range for the mile distance, but by the end of the year had shaved her time by two minutes. Dispensa described Melendez as not only a naturally gifted runner but also eager to improve.
?I was totally impressed with her gains,? Dispensa said. ?She (Melendez) naturally has a good running form, and it was just a matter of her getting to the time she wanted. It was a lot of fun to work with her and she has a very outgoing personality.?
Melendez said the work with Dispensa helped her blossom as a runner.
?She really supported us and helped us become our best,? Melendez said. ?She really helped me with my breathing and developing a pattern.?
So far this season, Melendez had participated in three cross country meets. Humboldt started the season in Garnett, where Melendez placed 57th finish with a time of 32:16.
Melendez admits that the first meet was a learning curve. Head cross country coach Eric Carlson said that Melendez picked up a side stitch that hampered her efforts.
?I really wasn?t hydrated enough,? Melendez said. ?I wasn?t ready. But since then I?ve been trying to drink lots of water. ?
Melendez said she was disappointed with her performance, considering she had adequately prepared by running at least two miles every week day.
Carlson said he was pleased with Melendez?s training.
?Lulu always stays in pretty good shape,? Carlson said. ?She has a running mindset and knows what she wants to accomplish, and stays focused. She was frustrated in the first race when she didn?t compete the way that she should. But I wasn?t worried. You can?t always PR in every single race. If anything it is a good learning experience because it teaches you how to keep that from happening in the future.?
Breaking down that first meet further, Melendez said she started too fast and has since come to understand the importance of pacing over the longer distance of a 3.1 mile race compared to the 2-mile distance of middle school competitions.
Ever since, Melendez has been in fine form. In the following meet, she improved her time by nearly five minutes, completing the 5K race in 27:19. In her most recent meet last Thursday, Melendez posted a time of 25:48, her best on the course to date.
Carlson believes that she is on the right track to success.
