SAN ANTONIO (Nov. 18, 2010) -- Before the sun rose on Thursday morning, Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) sophomore Miriam Vazquez was up and on her way to catch a flight to the Northwest. Vazquez has qualified for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Women's Cross-Country National Championship as an individual. The 31st annual event will take place at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash., on Nov. 20. The women's 5K run is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. PST.

This weekend will be the second time in as many years that Vazquez has competed at the national level. She has been training hard since last year's nationals, and hopes her hard work will be handsomely rewarded.

Miriam Vazquez and Coach Stephen Sherman talk to Eric Lucero during this week's SAINTS TALK.

"We've been working hard to get Miriam prepared for the competition," said Cross-Country Coach Stephen Sherman. "She's been very competitive and successful in this year's meets, so she has a great chance of performing exceptionally well in this weekend's tournament."

Vazquez's love of running started at a young age. She began competing in summer track leagues at the age of six and has been running ever since.

She began cross-country competitions in middle school. When asked what motivates her to keep running, her initial response was, "I don't know, people always ask me that, and I don't know how to answer." After some thought, she noted that running "relaxes her, and provides a source of stress relief."

Vazquez graduated from La Feria High School in La Feria, Texas, a small town of more than 6,000 near the border of Matamoros, Tamaulipas in Mexico. She joined the squad before the University hired a coach. "I remember sitting in my office with Miriam and her parents," said Jack Hank, OLLU Athletic Director. "You could tell how proud they were of Miriam, but they were definitely nervous about sending their daughter away to college."

"I made the choice to come to OLLU because it was a Catholic school," Vazquez said. She also says that the school's small size and the opportunity to help start a program contributed to her decision.

A large part of Vazquez's success on and off the track is the result of the support she receives from her family. She says her mother and father, who run their own construction company, are her biggest cheerleaders. "They come to every meet possible," she says, "They even followed me to Washington last year to be with me for nationals." Vazquez says that her parents stand on the sidelines shouting at her the whole time. "People ask me how I feel about them yelling at me, but it helps me do better." She also has a younger brother, 16, and younger sister, 14, who have taken up running as their sport of choice. "My brother is even considering graduating a year early and running cross-country at the college level." She laughed as she added that her sister likes to follow their example.

Vazquez is pursuing a degree in organizational leadership and hopes that once she graduates she will join her family's business. "I want to expand my father's company," she said.

As far as nationals is concerned, Vazquez just hopes that all the training she has undergone over the past year has prepared her for the competition. "I have been waiting for this since last year. I didn't know what to expect last year, so I wasn't as prepared. Now I know what to expect, and I trained hard to get ready."

"Miriam was our first-ever student-athlete to reach national level, and to repeat this accomplishment for the second year in a row is a great source of pride for our University," said OLLU President Tessa Martinez Pollack. Members of the cross-country squad visited the president on Tuesday afternoon for a prayer send-off.

Cheering Vazquez on on the sidelines will be her parents, along with Coach Sherman.

From left, Miriam Vazquez, Jason Caneda, Coach Stephen Sherman, Melly Mora and Laura Echeverria participate in a prayer.	From left, Jason Cadena, Coach Stephen Sherman, Melly Mora, Laura Echeverria talk with Dr. Tessa Martinez Pollack.