Jose Esqueda '19 Recruiting Profile

       First, I was about 13 years old when I was influenced by my dad and started running. He would always post his himself with his medals on Facebook and it seemed cool. Eventually, he asked if I wanted to run races with him, which at the time were 5K. After a while I became involved in running, and ran for cross-country and track in 8th grade. I didn't feel seriously competitive about running until my sophomore year in high school. Running became more than a sport to me that year. It became a passion. Some obstacles I've faced is being overweight and feeling that I'm not good enough to be a runner. But with running, I've learned that I can push myself through pain and to have patience with training knowing that eventually it'll all be worth it. Additionally, it's made me feel better about myself as I become more physically fit.

    Academically, I enjoy working and often work until late at night to finish projects and assignments. I try to be in the top 10% of my class, as this is a goal for both high school and college. Also, I consider grades are a student-athlete's first priority, and then sports are second. My collegiate goals are to be an excellent athlete and always place top 3 in competitions. I think I am a good candidate for a team because the way I see it, as I positively progress physically and mentally, I'll have a lot to bring to the table, competitively speaking. Also, I have the mentality that the training process is an essential item in the process to win and be a successful athlete.