Cross country runner Natascha Lepinasse attributes improved focus on diet and sleep for big leap as a junior

Patrick Mochen
Onwardtrojans.com

Chesterton junior Natascha Lepinasse ran the New Prairie Invitational 5k in 20:42.5, giving herself a personal record and finishing in the team's fourth spot. Lepinasse has improved quicker than either her freshman and sophomore season, coming onto the varsity scene fast. Several factors went into her exceptional time at New Prairie.
“I PR’d by 19 seconds,” Lepinasse said. “The first mile I went out pretty fast, and then I slowed up. but it was still a pretty good race.”
A key element of the course is the hilly terrain, which causes some competitors to do much worse than usual, but not Lepinasse.
“I do well with hills. I think my calves are stronger, so that contributes a lot,” she said.
More than just having a good race and matching well with the course contributed to her success on Saturday. The entire season has marked a big change for Lepinasse. She first ran cross country when she went to St. Patrick School.
“My favorite memory from St. Pat's cross country is when I would run, I would wait for the coach to pass and then I would walk,” she said.
Needless to say, she has taken the sport much more seriously at the high school level. Even so, her junior year has been more focused than in previous seasons.
“This year I really picked it up. Freshman and sophomore year I was staying at the same place the whole time,” she said. “I would also get constantly injured those years and this year I've just been on top of everything and staying consistent. I've drank a lot of water, but also electrolytes and protein on top of that, just a good diet overall. I’ve gotten better sleep too. That really helped a lot with everything.”
Teammate senior Alexa Jaworski, one of Lepinasse’s training partners, also had a good run at New Prairie, finishing fifth overall in the reserve race with a time of 21:59.4. They don’t run with each other as much, since the training groups have gotten shuffled around.
“We're really close and we’ve become closer,” Jaworski said. “I really like running with her because she pushes me, and she has pushed me in the past to break 22, which I finally did and we just love running together, and we're really good friends too. She's just always there for her teammates, never is negative or doubting anyone, and always striving to be the best that she can.”
Jaworski will be fighting to be on the roster for the postseason. The team will likely be taking three alternates with the seven varsity runners. Jaworski is in that final roster spot as of now.
Talking about Jaworski, Lepinasse said, “She’s really sweet and she's improving a lot too. She’s so encouraging. She always tells me, ‘Good job!’ after and I really liked running with her and I miss it. It's her senior year, so it's her last season and I know there is also pressure to make the postseason roster.”