Today we introduce Mia Cochran. The Moon Area senior is a two-time PIAA AAA XC state champion, who ended her junior season by winning both the 3,200m and 1,600m PIAA AAA state titles on the track. She is currently preparing for her final high school cross country season.
In her first entry, Mia looks back on the last year from her whirlwind of a cross country last season to a busy spring season. Check out what she has to say, in her own words.
--------
By Mia Cochran
My name is Mia Cochran. I am a runner, but a lot more goes into that title than you would believe.
My 2020 XC season was less than ordinary: injuries, COVID and many other aspects in life made the fall a little bit harder. The start of my season had much uncertainty. I was still dealing with hip problems and didn't even know if I was going to get opportunities to run meets. Lucky for me, I found many amazing doctors that helped me throughout the season to stay strong and become stronger.
My hip issues slowly went away but then came a brief period of knee problems. My doctors were on top of it, and the pain was close to gone before districts. But this knee pain was only a thought in my mind when I was contact traced 2 days before the state qualifier.
When I was pulled out of the lunchroom to be told I had to quarantine for 2 weeks, many emotions hit me. It was devastating hearing this, knowing that I wouldn't be able to compete for my second state title. I cried in the principal's office for about an hour because I put so much work leading up to states, and now, it was wasted because I sat too close to someone? All I heard from my principals and athletic directors was the I would "get 'em next year." I didn't want to "get 'em next year." I wanted to get my back-to-back title and make it a third my senior year, and I wasn't going to wait.
I will always be thankful for the amount of effort my parents put in for me to be able to win my second state championship. To keep it short, lawyers were involved with many COVID tests leading up to getting told I could run about 30 minutes before districts. Cross season was crazy, and with all that craziness, it ended on a good note in Indiana.
2021 track season was a lot different, however, kind of like perfect. It started off having big time drops in indoor track and placing 8th in the 2 mile at Adidas Nationals. After the winter, I jumped into the outdoor season, running in some little meets and having some more little PRs. I then got some bigger opportunities, one of them in Kansas, where I had a great breakout race in the mile running 4:53. After running through my state qualifier, I went down to Virginia to run a 3,000 that gave me a good perspective going into the state meet. After this race and the pre-race workouts, I had a lot of confidence in my training to win my first state track titles. Both races went amazing, other than it being 40 degrees and raining. Coming across the finish line and seeing my coaches and family so excited was the best way to end my junior season in PA. I walked away with two new PRs and a big smile on my face.
Once states were done, I had two more meets left in the season. I went to Chicago for a more low-key meet and to Oregon for outdoor nationals. Chicago was an interesting trip. From getting lost downtown and a very interesting hotel, it was worth it. The meet looked nothing but a dual meet but had the nation's best runners running on the same track chasing some fast times. I ran 10:17 and 4:45 for the 3,200 and the 1,600 and once again left the track very happy. Then I went to Oregon for outdoor nationals, where I decided to possibly take the harder race and run the 1 mile. I was very happy with my decision, placing 3rd and running a new PR. The overall trip was a blast and was just a dream running on Hayward.
On to the next now. Going into senior year, my summer training was delayed a little coming out of nationals in early July. Currently, I'm hitting the mileage and getting stronger in the weight room preparing to make this season the best one yet.
