After four years competing in cross country and track at LBHS, Hayden Joseph (12) will graduate as one of the program’s most memorable and hard-working runners, contributing to a CIF and state-level qualifying team. Over the years, Joseph has continued to set impressive records across multiple events.
According to Athletic.net, her personal records include 17:57.3 in the three-mile and 19:18.3 in the 5K for cross country. In track, her personal bests are 2:29.44 in the 800 meters, 5:19.53 in the 1600 meters, and 11:17.96 in the 3200 meters. She is also part of the school’s 4×800 relay team that qualified for CIF this season and will compete in CIF Prelims.
Coach Steve Lalim, who coached Joseph throughout all four years of high school, said her consistency and effort stood out in every race. “My favorite part about coaching Hayden is that she is always trying hard, and she never complains about any workouts or races,” Lalim said. “She always gets everything done and does her runs very well.”
Distance running at a competitive level requires athletes to train year-round, including summer, while balancing recovery, injuries, and academics. According to ScholarshipStats.com, only about 2.7% to 2.9% of high school girls’ track athletes continue to compete at the collegiate level.
The gap between high school and NCAA competition is seen in the progression of the current UCSB roster. UCSB competes at the Division 1 level, and one distance runner began college with a 5K personal best of 18:26 and later improved to 17:50. Joseph’s personal records help show the kind of improvement many athletes make as they adjust from high school to collegiate-level running.
Outside of competition, Joseph said some of her favorite memories came from team trips. She especially loved the tradition of creating music videos with her teammates during travel meets. One of her favorite videos she made was her sophomore-year video to “Money, Money, Money” by ABBA. While on the team, Joseph loved the San Francisco trip during her sophomore year and the Hawaii trip during her junior year.
When it comes to racing cross country, Joseph said the Woodbridge Invitational stood out to her because of the fun atmosphere, while the Clovis course in Fresno was one of her favorite courses to compete on. In track, the 1600 meters was her all-time favorite event over the years.
She plans to attend the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she will be studying biopsychology. The major studies how the brain, behavior, and the body work together, including things like stress, motivation, recovery, and endurance. Many endurance athletes study biopsychology to understand better how mental focus and physical condition affect performance over time.
Although Joseph does not plan to compete collegiately, she said running will continue to remain part of her life after high school. Looking back on her time with the program, Joseph said she hopes teammates remember her as someone who worked hard and supported others throughout practices and races.
