Senior Christine Mujica finished 16 seconds faster than her closest opponent finishing first at the Pat Savage Invitational cross country meet held at Niles West Saturday, Oct. 4.

With a time of 18:11:91, over the span of three miles, Mujica beat both her own record and a school records at the Pat Savage invitational cross country meet. Her coach wasn’t surprised at all.

“She was excellent, we’ve never had anyone win from Niles West so that was a huge stepping stone for our school and for her. But it wasn’t a surprise, she works extremely hard every single day, pushing herself, you can see she really wants to make herself better and I couldn’t be more pleased,” head coach Anne Heselton said.

Mujica said she plans to continue running at a higher level next year, in college. She wants to train her body physically and mentally so she can become a better and stronger runner.

“Joining Cross country was really by accident, I started running to stay in shape and to condition for soccer season, but then I realized that I was actually really good and I knew running Cross Country was meant for me,” Mujica said.

Not only does Mujica stay on top of her school work and grind after school in cross country practice, she somehow still manages to find time for a job and a social life.

“Never doubt yourself and make the best out of things because throughout four years, everything goes by very fast. It took me all of my four years of high school to realize it– time really does fly and it stops for no one,” she said,  “so make the best out of everything.”