Lake Minneola senior Noah Quintana had seven races under 17 minutes in 2016, but failed to qualify for the state meet out of 4A Region 1, also known as the Region of Doom. We caught up with Quintana in our Spotlight Athlete feature.
I've been running since the 5th grade.
Yes, my first real race was in 6th grade and almost got dead last.
How was your summer training?
Summer training has been very difficult with lots of longer runs.
My 2016 XC season was stronger towards districts.
A typical training week starts with either speed work out or mile repeats. We do about 7-8 miles a day and squeeze in a 10mile sometime in the week.
What is your favorite workout?
My favorite workout would be 400 repeats.
I don't know all the meets on top of my head. I know I'll be at the UF meet though!
I don't have any favorites, but every course is challenging.
Running a 4:26 mile stands out the most to me.
My goal is to finish senior year with a bang and break 16minutes for the 5K
I love the feeling of beating my past times and running with the best athletes around Florida.
The Low Down
My favorite quote would be "if you're not first you're last." My older brother would tell me that all the time.
My pre race ritual is to eat a few eggs and a cliff bar that's really it.
My favorite food is steak.
The last movie I saw was the new Spider Man and it was really good.
I train in Saucony and race in Nike or New Balance.
I'd pick Bolt because he's a beast.
A lot of people don't know I surf when I'm not at practice.
If I was stranded on an island I'd bring one of my surfboards, a hammock, and a knife to survive.