In this week’s CAA Student Athlete spotlight series, we are proud to feature Ocean Mayer. Ocean is a 15-year old 10th grader at BASIS High School in Scottsdale, AZ. Her greatest passions, and the sports that she excels in are cross country and track. Ocean recently raced in the Val Vista Spooktacular Sprint on Halloween. The course was very flat, allowing for a very fast-paced race. She came in first place with a season record for the 5k of 20:46. Great job, Ocean!
What Keeps Her Motivated
One of Ocean’s main motivators for running is her coach, Jacob Wells. “He has taught me a lot about perseverance, keeping a positive mindset, and overall just training really hard. He is not only a great coach to me, but he is there when I need someone to talk to about anything! He really helps me to motivate myself, and he does a great job of connecting with the team. Not only this, but he is helping me look to the future of possibly running in college”, Mayer says speaking about Wells.
Why Cross Country?
What Mayer loves most about cross country is that it allows her to get away from any stress from school or other issues. “I love to run, and it is super fun always being with my team and all around just competing with others! I love my team, as we motivate each other to do well. I always have a friendly competition with some of the guys on my team, and we really push each other during practice!” She continues by saying “because my school is so academically focused, I really enjoy running and being a part of the CAA because it allows me to take a break from all of my schoolwork. Being a part of the CAA has also shifted the focus a little bit more to sports at my school, which is great!”.
When I am not running most of my goals include doing well in school. This year I am taking 4 AP classes, so I work really hard to do well in all of those. I am looking to maybe run in college, but I want to focus on a school that has a strong academic program as well as athletics, and I need to work hard in school for that!
Goals for the 2020 Season
My goals for the season are to stay at the top of the league, and it would be amazing to set a personal record. My PR from last year is a 20:28, and I am hoping I can break that time in the upcoming meets! Not only am I looking at this season, but I am hoping to run in college, so doing well in this and the upcoming seasons means a lot for the future! Looking to run in college helps me to do well in this season, as it will affect overall how my high school cross country season went.
How COVID has Impacted her Sports Career
COVID definitely had an impact on her life, as it is much harder to stay motivated because of the lack of social interaction with others. “It was very disappointing not having a track season, but this also helped me prepare more for this season and focus on my running over the summer. I was so excited to get back to my team, as we all really motivate each other to do well!”, Mayer says. “I am currently still staying at home due to COVID, although I would rather be at school! COVID made me realize how much I miss being at school with all of my friends, and although it is difficult, I am trying to stay positive, and hopefully I can return to school soon!”
Plans for the Future
Mayer is super excited to get back to sports! Although she had been training while everyone was in quarantine, she missed training with the team and actually competing in a race. “When I found out we were going to have a cross country season I was so happy because that meant maybe some things could go back to normal!”
We love interviewing our CAA athletes to get their feedback and find out what they are passionate about! Good luck with this upcoming season, Ocean. You got this!