AZ Cross Country Athlete Spotlight 2020: Jadyn Herron-Jonap


Casteel's Jadyn Herron-Jonap is ranked #7 in Division II right now. She is also ranked as the #6 junior girl in all of Arizona, and the #19 ranked girl runner in all of Arizona overall.

Jadyn took the time to answer some questions for us about himself and the season thus far - here are his responses:


What are your XC goals for this season?

My goals for this season is to hit a time of 18:40 or lower and to place top five at state.

What has been the strangest thing about training for XC during the pandemic?

The strangest thing about training would be filling out COVID forms before each practice, making sure everyone is healthy and able to run.

Who is your toughest competition?

My toughest competition will probably have to be my own teammate Kyah Zurek. She is a phenomenal runner is always pushing me at practice. My goal this year is to be close to her time in races.

How are you liking racing in these waves at meets this season?

Honestly, I do not mind running in waves this year. Even though I feel it is more about racing against the clock than each other, I still believe that we are being pushed and having that competition.

What is the biggest difference you in racing last year to this year?
Last year I struggled a lot about having the right mindset and getting the times I should be at. This year I definitely focused on my mindset/thoughts, especially how things are this year. Even over summer, I trained a lot harder putting more mileage in and now hitting lower times in races.

Who is your biggest fan/supporter? How do he/she/they show you this support?

My biggest fans will always be my parents. They come to most of my meets and I see/hear them cheer me on. They always come up to me at the finishing line, taking lots of pictures and telling me how great I ran.

Another supporter would be my coaches. They have always given me the motivation to run my best and to teach me to trust the process.

How was your summer training affected by Covid this summer? What was similar from previous years? What was different about it?

Summer training has been the same for us. We still were able to meet up as a team and get our runs/workouts done. The only difference this year I would say is we were not allowed to use our own school track for a while and instead we would go to a different location.

How long have you been running? What do you enjoy most about running/xc?

I started running in third grade and been running ever since. I have never always liked running. I actually hated it when I started out but now I enjoy running because of the people connected with this sport. I love how everyone supports one another and there is a bond between the team that no other sports have.

Is there a song, movie, show, or saying that motivates you or keeps you focused on your goals? If yes, what is it and why?

"Track her down" is a saying from a movie called Overcomer. I have seen this movie with my teammates and now I say this to myself before/during races to motivate me to race harder.

What's your pre-race meal?

The pre-race meal will always be pasta. Specifically chicken pesto pasta.

Do you have any superstitions before the night of a race? (Any clothing you have to wear? Song you have to listen to? Food you need to eat? Etc.) If yes, how did this start?

I don't have any before the night of the race but every race day the girls' team brings the team bear (yes we have a team bear name Colten) to the meets as good luck.

Anything else you wish to share with us that you think is important for our readers to know? 

Even though we have minor setbacks for this season I am beyond happy that we are still able to compete and that what matters.