Before her first practice at summer conditioning, she'd never run a mile in her life, and later came in 22nd at the team's time trial. She raced in the 26s, gradually working down to 8th on the team to be the alternate at states.
She'd admire the top seniors, Anna Montgomery and Bailey Sullivan, who ran in the low 19s and high 18s and think: they're in a league of their own.
Fast forward four years later, and Jones was the team captain, dropping her time from freshman year over seven minutes. She ran a PR of 18:44.02 for fifth at states to place higher than Montgomery or Sullivan ever had.
"Throughout the past season, I was shocked to find that I was beating their times," Jones said. "I never thought I could run as well as they had."
The massive improvement can be attributed to Jones' tough mentality and work ethic, says Coach Roy Harrison.
Harrison remembers one winter, when, after a 16-day winter break, he asked the girls how many days they'd run. Most told him somewhere between 4 and 7.
Jones apologized. She'd only run 15 days, taking one off.
"She took running seriously from the very beginning. She has been so disciplined with her training and nutrition for 4 years," Harrison said. "She is admired by the other girls because of her amazing discipline and toughness."
Harrison calls Jones an extremely coachable athlete, something evident by her racing style. She's placed no worse than eighth in every cross country race this year, but in the big races like states, FSU (8th) and UF (4th), she wasn't near the top ten until the last mile.
"She is told what pace to run and she sticks to it, even if she is in the back when everyone else is sprinting the first 200 meters," Harrison said. "A good example is Track Regionals last year. In the 3200m after one lap she was in last place 40 meters back. She slowly worked her way through the field running an even pace, eventually coming in 4th and qualifying for the State Track meet."
Going into 2016, the fastest Jones had run was 19:51.30 at the 2015 district meet. Even in the races where she ran against more experienced girls with faster PRs, Jones didn't get fazed. She just competed.
"A lot [of] my confidence stems from Coach Harrison," Jones said. "...I try not to think too much about my competition and emphasize that I am going to run my own race at a pace I am confident about."
Looking forward, Jones hopes to keep cutting down her 3200m time- in her first race freshman year, she ran a 13:40.90, but her current PR is 11:33.19- to the mid to lower 11s, and hopefully make another trip back to the state meet. She's not sure yet about college, but running as a walk on at UF would be her top choice.
And for the other athletes looking to run like her, Jones' advice is simple.
"The key to improving is sticking with running. Even a short run is better than no run," she said. "I am to run 6 days a week even in the off season so I can show up to the first day of season in shape."
"Also running your own pace is essential. You need to run your best, not someone else's."
More Coverage
- Laura's Athlete Profile
- Article: Which Senior Girls Have Improved The Most Since Freshmen Year In Florida?
