Senior Maya Yatsko’s known for her speed and style: at every cross country and track meet, she rocks her signature bold eye makeup, complete with beads and blue eyeshadow. But next fall, that blue will turn to orange as Maya joins Occidental College’s Division III cross country and track team. 

Maya’s running career started simply: she joined cross country as a freshman after deciding to take up a sport as she entered high school. While some teams require equipment and years of experience, Maya picked up running easily. 

“I thought running seemed like a fun, but challenging experience,” Maya said. “You can kind of start it whenever.”

And once she began running, she didn’t stop. Running 30 to 40 miles a week at peak season, Maya’s times have dropped through the years as a result of her effort, commitment and consistency. Shaving off more than four minutes of her 5K since she started running, Maya turned from an average JV runner to a scoring varsity runner at States this November.

All this time, recruitment was on her radar.

“Maya’s incredibly dedicated and consistent,” cross country head coach Charles Alexander said. “She rarely gets injured because she listens to her body and trains smart.”

But improvement also requires challenges. In her junior year, when races matter most for hopeful college recruits, Maya said she experienced some setbacks and her race times fell short of self expectations. 

“I was worried throughout the whole season that I wouldn’t be able to get the times that I needed,” Maya said. “But I kept going because I was really determined to get recruited.”

Maya visited Occidental in both her junior and senior years of high school and immediately loved the campus and team culture. Upon return from her official visit senior year, her friends knew it was the school for her. 

“She came back, and I knew it was going to be her school,” senior Sam Witteles said. “Anytime she talked about it, she was beaming.”

Aside from running, Maya plans to major in media studies at Occidental. She was particularly drawn to the school because of its proximity to Los Angeles, where she’ll have the opportunity to work alongside the entertainment industry in her dreams of becoming an event planner. 

“I want to do something that’s a cool, creative outlet for me,” Maya said. “I want to plan something big and unique, but that also has an impact on people and is something that a lot of people will see.”

Along with her personal determination to improve, Maya also ran with support from her teammates, who’ve become some of her closest friends. 

“Running helps us to stay close,” Sam said. “When you’re on an hour-and-a-half run with someone, you can talk the entire time and I’ve gotten to know her a lot better through that.”

And she reciprocates that support as a team captain. 

“Maya’s extremely loving,” Sam said. “Whenever I’m down or something is wrong and I’m not feeling like my best self, she’ll always be there to hear it from my perspective and help me feel better.” 

From freshman year to her college recruitment, Maya has experienced the ups and downs of running, building her confidence as a runner and finding her place in the sport. 

“I would tell my younger self not to stress so much,” Maya said. “To not put so much pressure on herself to the point where it isn’t enjoyable, and to know that it’s all going to be okay.”