Northwest Herald Athlete of the Week: Huntley’s Isabella Ciesla

Name: Isabella Ciesla

School: Huntley

Sport: Cross country

Why she was selected: Ciesla won the Fox Valley Conference Meet on Oct. 19 at Hickory Nut Grove in Cary, and the Red Raiders won the conference championship as a team.

This past weekend, Ciesla and her Raiders teammates finished fourth at the Class 3A Lake Park Sectional to advance to the IHSA state meet Saturday at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Ciesla was 11th overall in 17:45.3.

For her performance, Cielsla was selected as the Northwest Herald Athlete of the Week in an online vote. Here is his Q&A with Northwest Herald sports editor Alex Kantecki:

What did it mean to you to win the FVC race?

Ciesla: Winning the FVC race was a very exciting moment. To me, it meant that my training all summer and all season had paid off. My strategy for the race was to stick with a pack of my teammates for the first part, and then as we broke off about halfway through, my goal was to stay at the front to help lead my team to a victory. As I crossed the finish line, I smiled and was very happy when I realized that I had won. I was even happier when I saw that our team had also won.

What has been the best part about being on the Red Raiders cross country team?

Ciesla: The best part about being on the Red Raiders cross country team is that I have the most supportive teammates and coaches.

What is the hardest part about cross country?

Ciesla: The hardest part is the strong mentality that you have to have to be able to finish the hard workouts and races.

How did you get into long-distance running?

Ciesla: I got into long-distance running when I joined cross country in sixth grade and have been running since then.

Do you have a favorite brand of running shoe?

Ciesla: HOKA.

What is your biggest pet peeve?

Ciesla: Slow walkers.

What are some of your hobbies?

Ciesla: Irish dancing, running and listening to music.

Which teammate makes you laugh the most?

Ciesla: Cori [Kilvinger] and Mckenna [Corso].

What is something most people wouldn’t know about you?

Ciesla: Something most people wouldn’t know about me is that I travel around the world for my dance competitions.

What’s the last really good book you’ve read?

Ciesla: “To Kill a Mockingbird.”