Looking for a place in the Olympics, cross country racer Jordan Hasay placed third on Dec. 8 in the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championship Finals held at Morley Field at Balboa Park in San Diego. Hasay, 16, a resident of Arroyo Grande, ran the race in 17:31, sprinting ahead of other racers in the last seconds to place in the top three.

 “It was a good race,” Hasay said in a telephone interview shortly after the event. “I was ahead for quite a while, but then some of the other sprinters passed me so I pushed myself ahead and passed them and ended up coming in third.”

 

Hasay led during the first mile, but the 5,000 meter race was over difficult, muddy terrain. At the two-mile mark, Hasay led by 10 seconds, but Ashley Brasovan of West Palm Beach, Fla., passed her and won the race with a time of 17:20. Kathy Kroeger of Franklin, Tenn., came in second at 17:28.

Hasay held the All American national prep cross country title for three consecutive years and has won All-American for two years in track and field. Her win last weekend gives her a place on the first of two All-American teams.

 

For her next race, Hasay will compete in the Junior Cross Country Nationals, set for Feb. 9 at Mission Bay in San Diego. She currently holds the 2006 title for that competition.

While she has become a legend on the track, Hasay is a typical teenager otherwise, recently qualifying for her driver license and enjoying friends and classes at her school, Mission College Prep, a private Catholic school in San Luis Obispo.

 

She said she likes chemistry and hopes to someday become an orthopedic physician. She also has a goal of racing in the Olympics and attending college on a sports/academic scholarship.

“I’m not going to start looking at colleges, yet, though,” she insisted. “I want to keep all my options open.”

For fun she enjoys surfing, going to the movies with her friends, swimming and reading. Her favorite book is “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a novel by Harper Lee about racism in the South during the 1950s. “I just like the message in the book,” Hasay explained. “I think it’s a great story.”

 

Hasay starts every race by relaxing the day before and then stretching and warming up for about 20 minutes before the run. She started competing in track in seventh grade and won the Junior Olympics that year. She kept racing and winning, setting youth records with almost every event, including international competitions.

She’s been featured in Newsweek and Track and Field magazines and was selected as best high school miler and two-miler earlier in 2007, as well as top sophomore girls high school track and field athlete in the U.S. for 2007.

 

Hasay said both of her parents, Teresa and Joe Hasay, are athletic, as is her younger brother, Jedd, who enjoys swimming and basketball. Her mother was an Olympic swimmer for England and her father was one of the top high school basketball players in Pennsylvania during the 1970s.

“I enjoy participating in high caliber races,” Hasay added, describing the weekend event. “I relax and do the best I can, and most important, I have fun. If you have winning thoughts and stay happy, it will always be a good race, no matter who wins.”