St. Elizabeth Ann Seton runner is nationally ranked

Katy Nunez is so “in the zone” when she’s running in track meets, she doesn’t even hear the cheers and claps of spectators.

Why? She’s too busy sizing up two things.

“I am totally focused on the people behind me and the people in front of me,” said Katy, a St. Elizabeth Ann Seton seventh grader and cross-country athlete whose performance at last summer’s Junior Olympics earned her an 11th place ranking in the United States in the 3,000-meter run.

That distinction, along with national top-20 rankings in the 1,500-meter and 800-meter distances, recently earned Katy the status of National Elite Athlete.

Not bad for someone who took up running seriously just a year ago.

“Katy doesn’t realize how good she is,” said Paul Mignogna, who coaches Katy and a small team of young track athletes called the Southern Stars. “There are 30 million registered track and field athletes in the United States and Katy is ranked first in the South and 11th in the nation in the 3,000-meter run.”

Frustrated as a child by the winded feeling she would get after running long distances, Katy decided to give the sport another try as a sixth grader on St. Elizabeth’s cross country team. She was inspired by the stories of her cousin’s boyfriend, now in his late 20s, who had been a successful track athlete in the Junior Olympics when he was Katy’s age.

“When I met him, it reminded me of when I used to run and I kind of wanted to do it again because I heard of all his accomplishments,” Katy said. “I got into it.”

Her new resolve paid off, with Katy coming in third in last fall’s archdiocese-wide cross-country championship. One day, as Katy was doing speed drills at a local playground, Coach Mignogna spotted her potential and started giving her tips on how to improve her running form. One of Mignogna’s first suggestions was to practice the correct arm motion for running with a set of five-pound dumbbells.

“That really helped my form a lot, because when I was running, instead of having five pounds in my hands it’s nothing, just running,” said Katy, who also learned to extend her fingers while running rather than clench her fists, and the correct way to breathe.

She likes middle-distance races because they call on endurance more than speed.

“I’ve learned how to set my pace,” Katy said. “I used to sprint the whole (distance). I would start the race in first (position) and I would feel good, but then I would get passed up because I would burn out. I wouldn’t have enough energy to finish the race. So I’d usually end up walking the race.”

She has also learned to withstand the pain of shin splints, the rigors of training seven days a week and a life without candies, cookies and soft drinks. But there are a couple of things in her running routine she keeps close.

“I wear a scapular I got in second grade for First Communion,” Katy said, “and I always do the sign of the cross before the race.”