Despite her recent recognition as Big 12 Runner of the Week and an academic All-American honor, senior All-American Marielle Hall appreciates her awards as if they were her first.
Hall, who recently added a pair of national honors to her resume following the Oct. 19 Wisconsin Adidas Invitational, still enjoys being recognized for her work.
“My position is definitely one of privilege, so I try not to take any of those things for granted,” Hall said. “I’m really proud to be able to represent the team, the school, my family and myself the best I can.”
Looking at Hall’s results, it’s evident she’s represented her school well.
Besides her awards this year, Hall has been well-decorated in her Texas career, winning the 2012 South Central Region Athlete of the Year award and making the Academic All-Big 12 team twice before her placement in 2013.
Led by Hall and Megan Siebert, the Longhorns are looking to turn heads at the Big 12 Cross Country Championships, a 6,000-meter race hosted by Baylor. Hall and her teammates have built toward this meet all season, and they hope for a great performance.
With her third place finish and personal-best time of 19:46 at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational. Her coaches expect a great individual performance.
“We have been led by Hall, who is coming off a nice race in Wisconsin,” cross country coach Brad Herbster said. “Marielle has the tools to be amazing at this meet, her confidence is high, and she is a wonderful student athlete. Texas has never had an individual champion in the Big 12, and we are hoping that [Hall] can be the first of many.”
Hall shares her coach’s sentiment.
“I’m definitely expecting to do a lot better than I have done, time-wise and place-wise, so that’s something that I think my team’s expecting from me, and I’m expecting from myself,” Hall said. “So I’m excited to get in there, and see how much I’ve improved and compete.”
Texas goes up against returning rivals Iowa State and Oklahoma State, who shared the top three team slots with Texas the past two years, with Iowa State finishing in first place both years. The Texas women finished in second and third place in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
Hall wants her senior season to end differently. She can’t control the outcome, but she’s confident in her teammates’ abilities and hopes to hoist her first Big 12 Championship trophy by the end of the weekend.
