SALINAS—Yvette Felix was so disappointed in the moments after her performance in the Division V race of the Central Coast Section Cross-Country Championships last Saturday at Toro Park that she immediately took off her shoes and started speed walking to …
“I just have a lot of things going on in my head,” the Anzar High senior said. “I just need to clear some thoughts out because I psyched myself out before the race. I had a (personal) record in my head, but I was just too tense.”
However, Felix was loose enough to qualify for the CIF State Meet, which takes place on Nov. 29 at Fresno’s Woodward Park. Felix ran the 3.0-mile course at Toro in 21 minutes, 40 seconds, which was good for 10th place and the last individual berth to state.
Even though Felix didn’t establish a new PR, she persevered through a trying season, having overcome a hip injury that threatened to derail her season. Given the circumstances, Felix accomplished a lot. For the moment, though, she couldn’t appreciate her performance.
“I know I improved from the start of the season, but I guess I can never be happy,” she said. “Overall, I did better than I expected, and yet I expected maybe to do a bit more.”
Felix will be making her second straight appearance in the state meet, having grabbed the last individual spot last year after a 13th-place finish in 21:43. Talk about a clutch runner.
Felix’s prep running career isn’t over just yet, as she will run on the track and field team in the spring. After that, Felix plans on running at Hartnell College, which is one of the premier junior college programs in Northern California.
One thing is for certain: Felix’s resume ranks as one of the greatest for a runner in school history. Consistent and durable, Felix won a handful of league meets during her career, and she proved to be a terrific leader.
Anzar coach Daniel Lowell said he could always count on Felix to give a great effort, meaning she ran hard and tough in every practice, no matter how she was feeling. Last summer, Felix was diagnosed with a crooked pelvic bone that was causing one leg to be longer than the other. She couldn’t run for six weeks, a period that seemed like an eternity.
However, Felix came back strong, earning another coveted state berth in the process.
