First time entry at Footlocker leads to automatic qualifier in Oneda

SUNKEN MEADOW STATE PARK, N.Y. – Lacing up her racing spikes for the first time in cross country as a sophomore, Winters Mill’s Hannah Oneda didn’t know what she was doing.

Much like she felt on Saturday, Nov. 26. She was an inexperienced runner at this caliber meet and didn’t know the course. But in three years, Oneda had taught herself something that can’t be cultivated without true passion, and that’s guts.

After battling a sickness earlier in the week, Oneda placed sixth (18:26.6) in her very first race at the Foot Locker Northeast Championships, which automatically earned her a spot on the line at the Footlocker National Championships to be held on Dec. 10 in San Diego, Calif.

In a race of that caliber following the setbacks she had, she didn’t know how to react when she crossed the line.

“I’m still pretty shocked about it,” she said.

Based on the top-10 times from previous years, she knew she had an outside shot of qualifying for the national meet. But, because she had not run all week, her faith vanished.

“I kind of thought to myself, ‘Well my chances of qualifying now are dwindling and are completely gone.’ But I thought, ‘I want to have fun and I want to do well.’

Leading into her race, she maintained that low key attitude, trying her best to not let her nerves affect her performance. As the gun sounded and the runners clipped off a quick pace in the first half mile, Oneda settled into the middle of the pack.

While she worked her way up closer to the front, she recognized a familiar face, Hannah Grossman from Swarthmore, Pa., a girl she had barely beaten earlier this season.

“We were neck and neck at the Bull Run Invitational, so I said, ‘Well, I might as well stay with her at Footlocker because we’re around the same speed.’ I remember staying with her probably around in the first mile, but then I kind of felt like I definitely wanted in the top 10 at that point. So I said, ‘I gotta get into the top 10. I might as well try, even if I kill myself running out too fast. I might as well try it.’”

A hill came into view. On that hill Oneda remembered that strategy and pushed herself through it, moving quickly up into the top 10. At that point she knew the far fetched idea of qualifying was not such an impossible mission anymore.

“I think I knew I was going to make it. I was just really hoping that nobody would sneak up behind me and catch me, but they didn’t. Towards about the last 800 meters, which I was in sixth place, I was thinking to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m actually going to Nationals.’
“I was kind of in shock while I was running, and afterwards I was kind of in shock - for the past three days now,” she laughed.

Taking one look back on her journey to the top serves as validation that she shouldn’t be shocked though.

Looking back on how she opted to not run cross country as a freshman to consistently placing in the top 10 at invitationals as a sophomore, Oneda showed she had untapped potential - potential she wanted to explore.

By the time she hit her senior year she had logged over 400 miles in the summer months, compared to nearly 200 miles in her sophomore year. Each day she ran at least eight miles.

“I could be going at 9:00 pace or 6:30 pace, so it was just kind of like whatever. Summer training was relaxing and building base.”

Training at her level was anything but relaxing on anyone else’s watch. Depending on the day she’d even take it to the next level and run up to 12 miles in one run. What she used to once loathe became part of her daily routine. Running like she did, Oneda didn’t want to stop.

“If I could do anything I would just do base all the time. I love running like 8 miles, 10 miles, 12 miles instead of doing workouts because I don’t really like doing the speed work. But I think that really helped just doing base training. Base training is really helpful.”

With that extra mileage under her belt and that added confidence coming into her senior season, she was breaking course records left and right prior to her state championship win and all-time state course record of 18:28.3.

Even though she has proven to herself that she belongs on the line in San Diego less than two weeks from now, she is still bewildered by the progression she has made in just three seasons. The natural manner in which she races under such extreme pressure is something she still can’t explain, as she reflects back on the past year. And to think it all started with that day she decided to give in and try the sport she thought she would detest.

“It means the world to me. I mean, I couldn’t be happier right now - from the season and qualifying for Nationals. I never thought this would ever happen. Maybe I dreamed about it a little bit, but I really didn’t think this was going to happen. This is just incredible. I am at a loss of words.”