Probably the quickest way to get Kyra Meko to do something is to tell her she can’t do it. Take, for instance, her freshman debut at the Mt. Sac cross country meet—one of the biggest races in California, drawing competitors from all over the state. Meko’s cross country coach at the time, Mark Houchin, told his runner before the race to just relax because she likely wouldn’t place. He was well aware of how she would respond: Rather than taking her coach’s advice, Meko completed the race in first place—and that was just the beginning.
Fast-forward four years later and Meko is still running circles around the competition. The defending Los Padres League cross country champion is a one-of-a-kind runner and a pivotal member of the Nipomo High School cross country team. Bubbling with energy, humble beyond compare, and determined, this runner is surely on her way to another league title.
While cross country is a sport that attracts people for a variety of reasons—it’s social, great cross training, or just something to do—Meko is drawn to it out of love.
“It is definitely a passion for me,” she said. “It’s not like other sports where you need skill coming in. You can make yourself a runner.”
Meko began her affair with running in kids’ track races in third grade. Coming into this season, she had serious goals she wanted to meet. Goals she reminds herself of every day when she looks at the “vision board” that hangs in her room.
Last season, the runner’s personal best for a 5K race was 19:20. This season, she is aiming for an 18:30 finish. She came close at the Elks midseason race with a time of 18:52. With league finals around the corner, Meko knows she can reach her goal.
“You can always improve, no matter where you start from, and you can take it further,” she said.
You could say the senior runner is driven by a fierce sense of competition, or you could say she is fueled by a deep intrinsic motivation. Whatever it is, Meko is the kind of athlete who wants to be the best at everything.
“I tried a lot of sports growing up. I’m very competitive,” she said. “Now I can settle into something I’m good at and I want to be the best.”
There are times the runner remembers struggling in a race, particularly a recent one at Stanford University. Despite feeling as though her performance wasn’t up to par, Meko said she takes those moments as a learning opportunity to figure out what she needs to work on.
Meko’s favorite courses—Ojai, Santa Margarita, and Mt. Sac—are dirt trails with a lot of hills, her specialty. The runner said the toughest part of cross country is the moments leading up to a race.
“You’re thinking about your strategy and everything you need to do,” she said. “When the race starts, I can just be a runner.”
Meko said running puts her into a focused mental state that is almost relaxing to her, and it’s the only time she feels that focused. When she isn’t racing, Meko said she loves to run in scenic areas.
“I love being far away from everything. It’s nice to look ahead and see nothing but road,” she shared.
She added that carrying five advanced placement classes makes for a heavy workload. Running is the only time she has to decompress and think after a long school day.
Success in cross country, the senior said, is dependent on a few things. The first is consistency—a runner has to show up every single day. But the most important component for a runner is mentality.
“Mentality is the biggest aspect because it’s you against yourself,” Meko said. “You have to have a plan for every race.”
Meko’s plan depends on the meet, but whether she’s running for time or strategy, she said she is always running to win.
“The most important thing I’ve learned is never expect not to win; always expect you can win,” she said.
This season has placed some new pressures on the runner. As defending league champion and a college hopeful, Meko is faced with certain expectations. However, like a true competitor, she’s using those to her advantage.
“I like being called the defending league champion. I can use it as motivation,” Meko said. “My family and team are supportive, so the pressure just comes from me.”
Nipomo High School cross country coach Arianne Rollinger said the first thing about Meko that stood out to her was her feisty disposition and determination.
“She never stops wanting to get better, no matter how she is feeling,” Rollinger said. “Meko has a fierceness of competition.”
Rollinger, who has known the runner since she was 8 years old, describes her as a renaissance athlete— someone who is highly coachable, knowledgeable, and who leads by example. The coach said Meko’s most impressive race this season was the Elks race. Their biggest goal is to get her to state. The cross country coach added that in addition to being a top athlete, Meko brings an irreplaceable energy to the team.
“Just like her name, she is bright, sunny, and pleasant,” Rollinger said. “She is mentally tough, committed to the team, and I’m proud to say I’ve coached her.”
Meko said she has improved as a runner in every area since her freshman year, especially her confidence. Cross country has also given her some invaluable life skills, such as persistence and consistency. But most importantly, it has given her vision.
“I’ll sit there in a bathtub of ice and think ‘why?’” Meko said. “Sometimes you have to do something that is not fun at first, but have the long term vision to know that it will be worth it.”
Although Meko will miss her teammates and summer practices, she already has her sights set on college cross country. She visited eight schools over summer, including Brown, Georgetown, and Johns Hopkins. She is also being pursued by several collegiate cross country coaches. With a 4.0 GPA and an unrivaled work ethic, acceptance to the school of her choice shouldn’t be a problem. She wants to major in political science.
Meko laughed when she thought back to her freshman year when she almost played tennis instead. But a love for the cross country team, as well as some coercion and inspiration from her brothers, pushed her in that direction instead—and she hasn’t looked back.
“Cross country is the ultimate sport,” Meko said. “It’s you pushing yourself, and I love to see how far I can make my body go.”
Staff Writer Kristina Sewell pushes herself to be better, too. Send her encouragement at ksewell@santa mariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 17-24, 2013.
