Wolverine Athlete Spotlight: Gina Sereno
9/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
In the past year, junior/sophomore Gina Sereno has elevated herself from a potential contributor to a mainstay in the U-M lineup. It started last fall, when Sereno seized a mid-season opportunity during the heart of the cross country schedule to earn a place on Michigan's postseason travel squad. There, she seized her chance to contribute, performing well at the Big Ten Championships before scoring at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
In the spring, she continued her upward trajectory, scoring at the indoor and outdoor conference championship meets on her way to narrowly missing a bit to Eugene, Oregon, for the NCAA Championships at 10,000-meters. Now, Sereno's contributions to the U-M lineup are no longer a luxury -- they are a necessity. She sat down with MGoBlue.com to discuss an early season weekend off, being back on campus with her new teammates and her expanded role in the lineup.
On the importance of a week off so early in the season ... "Before the season, we spent about eight days at the U-M Bio Station in Northern Michigan, training at a pretty high level and getting everyone back in shape, so it is really nice to come back and relax a little bit. We are still training hard and still took last week's training seriously, but now we are able to put everyone's collective gears in motion to get ready for this coming weekend and the rest of the fall."
On the first football weekend back on campus ... "It was a lot of fun. We got a big group of girls together and walked over to the football game. I actually lost my MCard walking over, so thank you to the nice people working the gates who let me in! But it was a real fun experience and it is always something that is fun to do together, as a group, as we all get back to campus."
On her growing role within the lineup and when she felt that transition took place ... "The way Coach Mike always describes it is by saying you're 'maybe' in, you're 'penciled' in or you're 'penned' in. Some people might think that puts more pressure on you, but because you know you're 'penned' in, that means he trusts you and he knows you're capable of doing what he expects, so in that way it makes it a little bit easier. It's reassuring to know that someone else believes in you."
On competing twice at Louisville's course this year, with the first of those two meets coming Oct. 3 at the Louisville Classic ... "Coach McGuire always likes to give us experience running on the courses that are going to come up when we run again there during the championship part of the season. I know at least I am super thankful, and I'm sure the other girls are, too -- thankful for the opportunity to practice and run on the courses that are going to be so important later in the season."
Communications Contact: Chad Shepard
Players Mentioned
