Celia Zaeringer

Cross-country runner Celia Zaeringer is Athlete of the Week. Originally from New Orleans, she began her running career in eighth grade at Patrick F. Taylor Academy. Zaeringer led the team this past week at the annual Louisiana State University Relays with a time of 18:27:23, placing second overall in the women’s race. The Lady Lions placed second overall finishing behind the Lady Tigers of LSU.

The Lion’s Roar:  Running is a difficult sport to pursue. What got you started in the first place?

Celia Zaeringer: I wanted to play soccer at my high school, and they told us that if you wanted to play soccer, you had to do either middle school track or high school cross country. I started with track, but then the cross-country coaches saw me running and asked me to join, so I started in eighth grade.

TLR: Have you set and reached any personal records this season?

CZ: This season was the first time I ran a 5K for school, and I had a personal record of 18:27, which I hope to continue to improve on.

TLR: Do you see yourself still running after college? Or do you want to pursue another career?

CZ: I wouldn’t do running as a career, but maybe on my own.

TLR: Is it hard to be a student athlete?

CZ: Not really. Being both a student and an athlete has allowed me to meet a lot of other athletes. That has helped me with my academics.

TLR: Before meets, do you have any rituals to help yourself refocus?

CZ: I’ll talk myself up in my head and say a prayer. As a team, we will say a prayer together, and that’s good. 

TLR: You grew up in New Orleans. Where were some favorite running routes you took?

CZ: My house in Metairie is by the levee so when I train I like to run along it, and going up gives me some hills to do. Not only that, but also the grass is nice and to be right by the lake is very peaceful.

TLR: Why did you choose to come to Southeastern?

CZ: Southeastern was one of my choices when I was looking at colleges, and then when Coach Chaps got in touch with me about running here, I became more interested. I thought this is the place I would like to go.

TLR: What are your goals for the team this season?

CZ: As a team, I hope we can do better than we did in conference last year and just continue to do well in all our meets. We are a young team, and I think we have a lot of potential.

TLR: Do you have any words of wisdom to students who would like to run as well?

CZ: Even though it might be a little hard, don’t be defeated easily. You’re going to have good days, you’re going to have bad days, you’re going to feel sore, but that’s a good thing. That means that you worked hard. Don’t let it stop you from continuing to run.