Posted: Feb 26, 2021
First Year Fridays: Cross Country
Chicopee, MA - With COVID-19 stalling our fall season, the Elms College Athletic Department will be showcasing our first year Blazers every Friday. Next up is our Cross Country program. Follow along and get to know more about your fellow Blazers!
The Cross Country program brought in one new player in 2020, here is a little something about each STUDENT-athlete.
Nathaniel Caraballo
Mile Runner
Baystate Academy Charter Public School, Springfield Massachusetts.
?? (I don't know my career stats other than my fastest mile time being 5 minutes and 30
seconds.
My favorite high school memory is encouraging my friend and "hyping" her up before her 400
meter dash. She ended up breaking her personal record and thanked me profusely for
encouraging her.
1. Coming to Elms college was a difficult choice due to knowing I wouldn't have any friends
from my high school with me. However, Elms was for me because I knew it would be a
small campus and I prefer small campuses over larger ones. I also wanted to experience
making new friends again.
2. Elms is a small campus, and it was more affordable than Western New England
University. I also liked the idea of a small population on campus because it makes me
less anxious knowing who everyone is (even if I do have trouble remembering names.).
3. Pre- game rituals include stretching my legs thoroughly the day before a meet to ensure
I keep my legs ready. The day of the meet, I eat a small fruit to keep me energized to
ensure I don't become too hungry and by eating lightly, I'll have no problem runninse
whereas eating heavy will make me throw up. About 30 minutes before I run, I like to do
the exercise called,"High knees" to keep my heart rate up.
4. I don't have any quotes I live by.
5. My former coach in high school truly inspired me to be a student-athlete because every
practice she would say,"I don't care how fast you run, if your grades aren't up to par, you
are NOT competing." and this would inspire every member of the team to not only focus
on their academics, but force themselves to learn a good schedule to stay on top of
school work.
