Achieving greatness on multiple platforms of distance running requires confidence, dedication and hard work.
Senior distance runner Kinsey Gomez employs these traits and more.
Gomez’s journey was not an easy path. The senior transferred to her father’s alma mater of Idaho and left Oregon State, a program where she had earned accolades for three and half years.
Gomez took the transition in stride, saving perhaps her best collegiate performances for last in the Big Sky Conference.
The Coeur d’Alene native won the 5,000-meter with a time of 17:02.64 at the Big Sky Indoor Championships in Bozeman last weekend. Gomez earned All-Big Sky honors in her winning event and the 1-mile race where she finished second.
“It was a really fun race and I was really lucky to have my (distance) coach Travis (Floeck) pick out the perfect race plan for me,” Gomez said. “That just happened to go beautifully and played out exactly like he hoped it would. It allowed me to hang back and go for the win in the last couple of laps.”
Floeck said Gomez’s hard work lets her stand out from the rest of the team.
“(Gomez) is one of the most dedicated workers I’ve have ever worked with,” Floeck said. “Our plan for the race worked out perfectly … I couldn’t be any prouder of her in last week’s tournament.”
Gomez said Floeck’s coaching has been an instrumental part of her success at Idaho.
“Travis has been such an awesome coach to have working with,” Gomez said. “I’ve never had a coach that’s just been this willing to work one-on-one with the athlete in order to make them as successful as they can be. He’s just as invested in my success as I am and he has all the same dreams, so we’re working together to make it a reality.”
Idaho track and field director Tim Cawley said the chemistry between the pair has been beneficial for both of them.
“Her relationship with Travis has been fantastic,” Cawley said. “They do a great job together and you can tell she trusts him implicitly. It’s got to be an open communication back and forth so you can fine tune things.”
Floeck said he worked with Gomez early in the season to build self-confidence after a mishap during the 3,000-meter race.
“She wasn’t running with the type of calmness a runner should have,” Floeck said. “She was a little bit off on being confident but it wasn’t her fault. Her spike fell off during the race and I think she handled it well but something had to be done to build her confidence.”
Gomez described the incident as an aspect of the tight packs of indoor running.
“I got caught up into a really big pack in the 3K and someone stepped in my heel and took my shoe off,” Gomez said. “It was so crowded to run in those types of races while in outdoors, the races are less tactical.”
Floeck said the pair have worked on approaching each race with more confidence.
“After what happened, it actually became a blessing,” Floeck said. “We evaluated how she approaches and prepare her races. That all came into cultivation at the Big Sky Championships because of her hard work she has done throughout the season.”
Gomez said multiple stress fractures and personal frustration led to her decision to leave Oregon State.
“When I was a lot younger, I thought you had to be at one of the big conferences in order to excel,” Gomez said. “But I didn’t realize that in order to perform at your best, you have to find that perfect fit for you as an athlete and not so much where you’re at. After transferring here, I have just been able to focus more on the last year I have of eligibility to make it the best that I have left.”
Gomez said this spring was the first indoor season she has been completely healthy.
“It was really fun to be able to get that base and race a couple of times and get a couple of rust busters out of the way and remember how much I love to race,” Gomez said. “It just made me really excited for outdoor to come in more fit than I have ever been.”
Cawley said Gomez’s performance this season after her injuries has been amazing.
“Not everyone thought she was able to make it back to the team,” Cawley said. “To see her grow and build the confidence and poise she displayed last week was pretty darn impressive. Her speed, the strength – everything was starting to come together.”
Cawley said the 10,000-meter race would showcase to the crowd Gomez’s attitude on the track. He said he expects her to move further into the NCAA tournament.
“The last time she ran outdoors, she ran the 10K at the first round of the NCAA championships but missed nationals,” Cawley said. “She’s at a place that she has a shot to make the championships in the final round, not just the first round.”
Gomez said she did not initially like competing in the 10,000-meter race.
“It’s kind of those things where you fall in love with the event that’s your best event,” Gomez said. “When I was younger, my dad always told me that I was going to be a 10K runner and I told him, ‘No dad, I’m going to be a miler,’ because it sounded way more fun. ‘I don’t want to do 25 laps.’”
Gomez said after competing in the event for several years it became her favorite outdoor event.
“When I got to college at Oregon State and tried it out, it was just a whole different challenge to run the 10K,” Gomez said. “A lot can happen in 25 laps, and it really plays the aerobic strengths to track which is fun.”
Gomez and the rest of the Idaho track and field team will begin the outdoor season Mar. 26 at the Mike Keller Invitational in Moscow.
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @TheLTFiles
(Photo Courtesy by Spencer Farrin)