There was a time when things weren’t so clear for Magdalena Sandoval.
As a senior out of Los Alamos high school in Los Alamos, N.M., the talented cross country runner wasn’t planning on attending Oregon. In fact, Sandoval wasn’t even going to be near the West Coast.
She chose Rice University, a small private school in Houston, Texas.
“I discovered it was the wrong place for me,” Sandoval said. “I really have no regrets about attending Rice. It helped me find what was important to me. I chalk it up to experience.”
Sandoval was recruited out of high school by former cross-country coach Tom Heinonen, and shortly after discovering she didn’t prefer Rice anymore, Sandoval made the call to Eugene.
“I’m absolutely 100 percent sure Oregon is the right place for me,” Sandoval said. “I love it here; I really do love it.”
It seems the toughest adjustment for Sandoval has been the weather.
“I’m leery of the rain, but I’m able to handle it,” she said.
There doesn’t seem to be much the senior can’t handle. After all, Sandoval has led Oregon in its past two races. Sandoval finished second at the Sundodger Invitational and the Willamette Invitational.
Her passions reach much farther than running. The oldest of six children, the senior loves to cook and has a strong interest in photography. A double major in geology and photography, she finds time to make “pumpkin cheesecake, pizza dough, vegetable pizzas with my own pizza sauce and veggies, three inches thick.”
Sandoval hasn’t had much success in other sports, though.
“I don’t have any hand-eye coordination,” Sandoval said. “So, soccer and basketball were out.”
That left swimming and cross country, but it didn’t start out that way.
“In seventh grade, I moved from discus and high jump to the mile in track,” Sandoval said. “From there, I went to cross country.”
It turned out to be the right move.
“I knew I wanted to run in college,” Sandoval said. “I like to compete.”
It was geology that kept Sandoval away from her teammates and new coach Marnie Mason during the recent summer months.
“I interned at the Los Alamos National Laboratory,” Sandoval said. “I did geological mapping with a trio of scientists.
“We mapped the Valles Cardera, a national preserve recently acquired by the government. We created a official new geographical area, which was last mapped in the ’60s. We mapped Rhyolitic Domes. It was my ideal job, it applied to my major, it was fascinating and it was an incredible learning experience.”
It now seems as though Sandoval has her life mapped out.
Although Sandoval was away from her team, she had many early mornings to herself to train for the season while her teammates were in Eugene for part or all of the summer.
“(I was) getting up early before the sun and going out for a run through the woods and forest,” Sandoval said. “It was cool and quiet. I got to watch the sky lighten up, it was a time to think, when all my senses are enhanced. Then I would come back from the run ready to fuel the day.”
As with any sport, certain days are more fun than others. It isn’t uncommon for a once-recreational activity in high school to feel like a job for many involved in collegiate competition, but not for Sandoval.
“Its a huge honor to run Division I,” Sandoval said. “It’s a testimony to talent, work and attitude toward performing. The fun part is competing and pushing yourself to absolute limits. It’s different than running recreationally than with a goal in mind.
Teammate and close friend Laura Harmon gets to see three sides of Sandoval: The teammate, the student and the friend.
“She is so funny and very intelligent,” Harmon said. “She knows when to be serious and when to have fun. Because of that she is running really well. A lot of people take life outside of running too seriously. She is always laughing.
“She doesn’t care what anyone thinks, she does what seems fun. Everyone loves her.”
And sure enough, she loves Oregon.