CATHERINE JAYIN JUN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Freshman
Alejandra Barrientos committed herself to being a
top cross country runner.
By Michael Sneag
Daily Bruin Contributor
Never mind that she was only in her junior year in high school.
After spending a week at UCLA head coach Eric Peterson’s
running camp in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. with her high school team,
she already had it figured it out. Alejandra Barrientos knew that
UCLA was the place for her.
She made a verbal commitment, and after visiting the campus, it
was something that Barrientos was willing to honor because she was
so confident that she was making the right decision. Not that she
didn’t have other options.
Barrientos was one of the top high school runners in the nation.
She was an All-American for the mile and 3,200 meter in her junior
year. She had competed in all of the top California meets and had
shown herself to be competitive on the national level. She could
have had a choice of almost any school.
Instead, she narrowed it down to just one.
“It seemed like such a wonderful environment,”
Barrientos said. “The way that Eric (Peterson) dealt with us
was really good. I started really thinking about colleges, and UCLA
was the first and only one that popped into my head. After I
visited the school and completely fell in love with the campus, I
just knew this was where I wanted to go.”
The commitment to choose UCLA wouldn’t have even happened
if she hadn’t made another commitment a few years
earlier.
At the beginning of her sophomore year, her father had given her
an ultimatum. He had said that if she was going to run, she had to
give it 100 percent.
No more missing workouts. No more slacking off. Enough was
enough. Either do it properly, or don’t do it at all. After
taking a few days to figure things out, Barrientos decided to
re-dedicate herself, and now she is experiencing nothing but
success.
As a Bruin, Barrientos hasn’t disappointed at all. From
her first race at the Cal State Fullerton Jammin’
Invitational on Sept. 1, she established her place on the team by
placing fifth overall and first among the Bruins.
She was the top Bruin finisher in every race during the regular
season, which is remarkable for a freshman.
Weakened by the flu in the past few weeks, her fitness has
suffered and she was only able to place fourth among the Bruins at
the Pac-10 Championships two weeks ago. She is determined to regain
her place as the leader of team.
But she also knows that she doesn’t have to lead the team
at the finish line to be a true leader.
“I think it comes naturally,” Barrientos said.
“I don’t do anything on purpose. I just look to the
other team leaders and I have tried as best I can to follow what
they do. I focus on staying on task and making sure that I do my
best all the time and keeping within the team structure.”
At the same time, she knows that the team needs her competitive
fire to kick in and take over during the races. She understands
that the team needs her to be at her best at the regionals and
nationals in the next few weeks.
“Her main contribution is the inspiration that she
provides to the team,” fellow freshman Lori Mann said.
“Being able to rely on her to race against the top runners at
the collegiate level is a big boost to the rest of the team. It is
comforting to know that we have someone on our team at that
level.”
The Bruins’ coaching staff had been looking for someone
who could be that front runner, and Barrientos fit that mold
perfectly. The commitment that Barrientos made was a huge boost to
the UCLA program.
“She came on an unofficial visit with her family, and I
told her that there was nobody in her class that we would rather
sign,” Peterson said. “With the support of her family,
she made a verbal commitment. To her credit, she understood the
responsibility of that decision and declined to go through the
whole recruiting process with any other schools and she honored
that verbal commitment when it counted.”
“Coach Peterson told me how he hoped that I understood how
rare it was that I was committing so early and the responsibility
that comes along with it,” Barrientos said. “But it was
just such an easy decision for me. The coaches, the girls, the
campus, the fact that it was in California ““ everything
clicked and was perfect for me. And now that I am here, it is even
better.”
Her sister Raquel, a junior in high school, also runs track and
cross country. The possibility of her sister joining her at UCLA
has Barrientos bubbling with excitement, but she knows what it will
take for that to happen.
“It is difficult for her because she is always being
measured against what I did,” Barrientos said. “People
are always comparing us, and I think it was difficult for her to
enjoy it properly while I was home.
“Now she is really motivated. She visited me recently, and
now she really wants to come to UCLA. She told me that she is
willing to do whatever it takes to be a good runner and make it to
UCLA. That would be so awesome if she came here, and I would love
it.”
It sounds like the Barrientos family has the concept of
commitment figured out.