Bolles senior Ally Hajda is one of the top runners for a Bulldog team that has won the last four 2A Cross Country Finals and had equal success on the track. Hajda was recently named Homecoming Queen for the school in the midst of preparing for a fifth straight championship. North Florida correspondent Jacob Fuller shares her story.
Ally Hajda started running at Bolles in 6th grade on the middle school track team. At that time she obviously didn't know what type of runner she was and started off running the 100, 200, and reluctantly the 400 as a small, skinny 4'11 girl. In 7th grade Ally decided to try cross country and says she found her home.
"It was such a welcoming team environment, even as a 7th grader on a team with many older girls. Coach Ryan is really great at developing all his runners and not burning them out at a young age. He emphasizes that every runner is equally important, from the slowest JV girl to the top Varsity girl. Every year I can tell that I am developing more as a runner as training gets more intense."
This summer Hajda attended Brevard Distance Runners Camp for the 6th year in a row. Coach Ryan and company brought over thirty girls to North Carolina. The senior adds it is a great opportunity to tackle hills that aren't in Florida, but also a way to bring the girls closer together.
"It's an amazing opportunity for team bonding. This year it was pouring down rain for all our runs, but it just made us all tougher."
The team concluded summer training at the Tallahassee Mini Camp and are one of the top teams in the state of Florida as well as 2A heading into this weekend's regional meets.
For the Bulldogs, the first two races of the season were supposed to be on courses the team had never run on at the Spikes & Spurs Classic and Florida Horse Park Invitational, races the senior finished second in both times. The team was then supposed to head to prestigious Van Cortland Park in New York, as a fun out of town meet against some of the northeast's best teams, but Hurricane Matthew derailed those plans.
In between running this fall, Hajda has shown her pageant side winning the title of home Homecoming Queen. She says she was surprised she won, honored to be voted queen by her classmates, and to have her coaches in attendance as well.
"I was fortunate not to have an away meet this year during homecoming. In the past, we had our Pre-State meet during homecoming and my teammate, Austin Decker, was crowned homecoming king in the hallways of our hotel with a crown from the Burger King next door. My teammate, Annie Pentaleri, was also on the homecoming court, and we both agreed it was weird being on the field with high heels instead of training shoes!"
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Now, that the homecoming festivities are in the books, she has her eyes set on a new PR and for the team to make it on the podium at state. An experienced runner like Hajda knows number five won't come easy especially at the hands of familiar foe Pine Crest who has joined them on the podium the last four year's as runner-up.
"Pine Crest is looking amazing this year so it will be fun to continue our friendly rivalry again with them at states and we'll do our best to hang with them!"
Hajda plans to continue her cross country running career at the next level, but says academics will be her first priority, and adds she is looking for a happy school with a collaborative environment. She has had official visits at Brown, Columbia and Washington University at St. Louis and says the recruiting experience is fun exploring the schools and meeting the coaches, team members, and other recruits. She plans to apply early, so a decision to verbally commit should be coming up soon.
The Lowdown
(We wanted to find out more about Ally and some of her favorites in the sport)
What is your favorite place to run locally?
My favorite place to run is at the UNF trails except for in the summer when the horse flies attack. I always look forward to the difficult, but beautiful trails in Brevard, North Carolina.
Do you have a favorite workout?
One of my favorite workouts would have to be the Indian run because everyone gets to run together as a team.
Who is your favorite athlete?
It's a toss up between Prefontaine, Coach Ryan, Reggie, and my teammate Caitlin Collier. (LOL) But I'll have to go with Caitlin. I had the opportunity to watch her run while I was in Boston this summer at the Adidas Boost Games where she ran 4:19 (1500m) and a week later ran a 2:04 (800m)! She's the funniest person I know and the most humble. She'll probably kill me for writing this but we are all so proud of her!
When you aren't running what do you like to do?
I love to travel. Especially these past two summers where I had the opportunity to go on service/mission trips to Cuba and Costa Rica. On both trips, I went with at least one of my cross country teammates, and we were able to run and explore new places that we wouldn't have been able to see otherwise. I also love to go to the beach with friends, boating, and eating good food.
