A-K Valley girls athlete of the week: Kiski Area’s Eliza Miller

By: Jerin Steele
Wednesday, October 13, 2021 | 10:08 AM

Eliza Miller

Class: Sophomore

School: Kiski Area

Sport: Cross Country

Report card: Miller set a Division I, Section 4 meet record with a time of 18 minutes, 57 seconds en route to winning at Northmoreland Park last Wednesday. Her performance helped the Kiski Area girls to a third-place finish in the sectional meet. She qualified for the PIAA meet last year as a freshman.

How did it feel to set a sectional meet record?

When I finished I didn’t know my time, but I had a feeling that I had beat my previous best time. I was super excited.

It was an unseasonably warm day, so did the weather affect how you approached the race?

Normally when it is that hot, I tend to start a little bit slower than when it’s colder just because I’m not really used to racing in that type of heat this late in the year. I just tried to maintain at the beginning of the race.

What are your goals for the WPIAL meet?

I want to medal this year. That’s definitely a big goal for me. I feel like I’m more prepared to do that this year.

How have you improved throughout the season?

I’m more mentally into it now than I was at the beginning. I’ve had some confidence boosts throughout the season. For a while I didn’t feel great about my running, but I started training a little more with more intense workouts. That has made me more confident in my racing.

What got you interested in cross country?

I’ve been running since I was really little and have been good at it since I was young. It’s just fun. My goal is to be a triathlete. I hope to go to a college that has a triathlon team.

What is your favorite school subject?

Algebra. It just comes easy to me.

What are your hobbies outside of running?

I like to swim. I swim and I run. That’s pretty much all I do.

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Kiski Area