Mikhaila Thornton had a solid junior season running cross country for Mountain View last year. She finished 17th at state meet after finishing 7th at districts to qualify as an individual. Thornton looks poised to improve upon those showings based on her first race of the season. Thornton finished second at the Pre-district meet last Friday running several of the best Class 5A runners in the state. Thornton answered some questions for Central Oregon Athlete:

Central Oregon Athlete - How long have you been running competitively?
Mikhaila Thornton – I’ve been running long distance competitively since 8th grade, before then, I always played soccer.

COA – What got you interested in running?
MT – I have always loved doing sports, and my parents were really into sports. My mom was my soccer coach, but when I forgot to sign up for soccer my 8th grade year, I decided to try cross country.

COA – How long have you lived in Bend?
MT – I have lived in bend for about 7 years.

COA – Do you play any sports other than running XC?
MT – Yup! I played soccer freshman year, I have been on the Nordic ski team since sophomore year and I have always done track and field.

COA – What do you like to do when you aren’t running?
MT – I love to hang out with friends, draw and paint, dance, road and mountain biking, reading, and of course eating and sleeping.

COA – You had a great start to the season @ Pre-Districts, were you expecting to run so well?
MT – I knew I was going to do fairly well, I wasn’t expecting second place though. I feel a lot stronger this year than I did last year because I’ve been working on treating my asthma a lot this summer, so I knew that would help a lot in my training and races.

COA – What are your goals for this XC season?
MT – Im really hoping to help bring home a State trophe with my team and just do the best that I can possibly do in every race.

COA – What has been the highlight of your XC career so far?
MT – Hm, my highlight would probably be last year at the Sunfair invitational in Yakima when I won my flight. After the race, my assistant coach picked me up and spun me around and cried, it was such a great feeling.

COA – Anything else to add?
MT – GO COUGS!!!!!!