By: Erik Rico
Sierra Nelson, ‘23 is a key member of the track squad at Redwood. She has been devoted to the sport since she was in 4th grade, saying, “We’re a track family.”
On the track, she competes in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, and hurdles and also competes in the sand with long jump. At a young age, she also did some club sports and aspired to be like her sister.
Outside of her skill on the track, Nelson says she excels on the track because of, “Dedecation, and being coachable, because a lot of kids have talent but they won’t show up every day. So you have to be consistent and you definitely have to love the sport because it can be pretty grueling at times.”
Nelson also gets inspiration from two big names in womens track, saying, “I definitely look at big athletes like Allison Felix, Tara Davis,” both of these athletes being olympic competitors and huge inspirations for many on competing in short distance running and jumping events.
Although she aspires to be like these athletes, Nelson also looks within her family for inspiration, with her older sister having done track and inspiring her to be her best when she runs. In addition, Nelson feels that she is one of the hardest working athletes on the team, with her times showing it in her events. She has improved around 3.3 seconds in the hurdles and 3 ½ feet in the long jump since her freshman year.
Nelson was the anchor in the 4X100 (as pictured to the left) race for the team last year, being one of the fastest racers in the West Yosemite League (WYL). She went on to finish 6th in the 100m dash in the WYL Championship with a time of 13.25 and 1st in the 100m hurdles with a time of 16.45.
Two of Nelson’s best events are long jump and 100m hurdles, competing in both events all 3 years at Redwood. Her Personal Record (PR) in the long jump being 17’ 6.5” at the CIF Central Section Masters where she ultimately finished 4th in the event. In 100m hurdles, Nelson capped off her season by setting PR at 15.90 and finishing 10th in the event at the CIF Central Section Master but finished 1st in the event 7 times throughout the season.
Nelson believes that what divides her from the competition is how she carries herself, saying, “My attitude, like I just want to be better. I don’t want to go out to practice and mess around a lot. I just want to get the workout done and do as best as I can.”
Nelson ends it off by saying that the best part of her game is, “My work ethic, because I think anyone can be good at track you just need to put in the time and effort.”
Erik Rico
Erik Rico '25, is a first year journalist for the Redwood Gigantea. He plans to live in the sports section hoping to cover all aspects of Redwood Athletics. His hobbies include baseball, football, and traveling. He looks forward to attending as many Ranger Athletic events as possible.
Tags: Erik Rico, redwood high school, sports, Track & Field