Mareno scheduled to compete in first career 5,000 on the track

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

North Carolina State freshman Nevada Mareno is scheduled to not only participate in her first collegiate race Friday at the Raleigh Relays, but it will be the first competition in more than 13 months for the former New Balance Nationals champion and two-time Foot Locker cross country All-American.

“One thing I have lost in my time off is the ability to gauge my fitness level,” Mareno said. “It’s hard to compare my fitness to years past because the training now and then is very different, and I think my idea of the effort I exerted in past workouts is skewed.”  

Mareno is entered in her first career 5,000-meter race on the track, scheduled to compete against New Balance professional Stephanie Garcia, along with Furman senior Allie Buchalski, Eastern Michigan senior Alsu Bogdanova, Charlotte senior Caroline Sang, Providence senior Catarina Rocha, Virginia Tech sophomore Sarah Edwards and Wolfpack teammates Elly Henes, Ryen Frazier and Dominique Clairmonte.

“In a perfect world, I would set a personal best in my college opener. The big goal would be to set a regional mark,” Mareno said. “Personally, I want to run strong to be a testament to the strength of this program and the commitment my coaches and teammates have shown me in my time here.”

The last time Mareno competed was February 2017 against professional and collegiate athletes indoors in the elite mile at the Camel City Invitational, clocking 4:48.60 at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem.

She didn’t race during her final outdoor track campaign at Leesville Road NC, before arriving at Stanford in the fall, where Mareno redshirted her first cross country season.

During her winter break, Mareno made the decision to leave Palo Alto and officially transfer to North Carolina State to be coached by Laurie Henes. Although she was immediately eligible to compete, Mareno did not participate for the Wolfpack during indoor season.

“I was very grateful Henes gave me the opportunity to get settled and acclimate to life here at N.C. State. I think we both saw that in the past I was able to push through intensive short blocks of training and get decent results, but I was never able to sustain it,” Mareno said. “So if we wanted to make a good showing in outdoor, it was important to develop a strong base in indoors to avoid me going into ‘urgency mode.’”

The last time Mareno competed at 5,000-meter distance was the 2016 Foot Locker cross country nationals, finishing second to two-time champion Claudia Lane of Malibu CA.

Mareno also represented the U.S. at the Great Edinburgh XCountry International Challenge in Scotland in January 2017, placing third in the women’s U20 4-kilometer race, before competing in the lone track race of her senior year a month later at Camel City.

“It has been really gratifying seeing my body mold back into form,” Mareno said. “I’d say 13 months of no racing has just given me a much more ‘chill’ approach to everything (involving) running.”