As a cool Friday afternoon unfolded at Golden Gate Park’s Speedway Meadow, San Francisco State University hosted its annual SF State Invitational cross country meet, where three senior athletes competed in one of the final events of their collegiate careers.
On Oct. 11, 12 different teams and approximately 100 attendees and proud family members made their way to the event, which was followed by an award ceremony to honor the seniors who have dedicated years of their lives to the program.
“I’ve been here for five years so it’s super cool to finally be at the end,” said Brandon Johnson, one of the three seniors honored that night. “It means a lot just because of everyone I met along the way and all the people I’ve run with in the past.”
Johnson was the only athlete from the men’s team, and the other two seniors were Sydney Seyer and Daisy Salinas.
“All three have been big parts of our team for sure,” said Tom Lyons, head coach of SFSU’s cross country team. “They’ve been here the whole time and they’ve been great for the team. It’s always good to have that leadership.”
All three runners began their cross country journeys from a young age and have carried it onto a full collegiate career at SFSU.
Johnson began his running career back in middle school in an attempt to impress a girl. From there, he stumbled upon his passion for running and has been active in the sport ever since.
“I’ve been running for nine years, so almost a whole decade now, and it’s been fun all the way through,” Johnson said. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do with the sport once I’m done with it. It’ll be weird when I’m done running collegiately because then everything’s just gonna be what I want to do, versus doing it for a team and hanging out with a team and all the elements of that that come with it.”
Similar to Johnson, Salinas began her running career at a young age. Salinas started in the sixth grade and has remained committed to running throughout the years after realizing her passion for it.
“I started in sixth grade and then kept doing it every single year from middle school to high school and then got recruited by Tom in like 2020,” said Salinas, a kinesiology major. “I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go, but I know the girl’s team here seemed really strong, and Tom seemed like a really great coach so I stuck with it until now. It’s been a good 12 years of running competitively.”
Seyer began her running journey in middle school as well, participating in once-a-week Junior Olympics events but she feels she really started in high school where she found the motivation from her twin brother who also ran.
“I’m very thankful for his guidance. I would not be here today without him,” said Seyer, a business major.
While the athletic achievements of a student-athlete often take center stage, for Johnson, Salinas and Seyer, high standards don’t just apply to their athletic commitments.
All three athletes are California Collegiate Athletic Association Academic Honor Roll members, as well as Division 2 Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Award recipients.
“We do have very high GPAs for our teams, especially across the nation. I mean, we’re one of the top GPAs in the nation with some of our programs with our men’s and women’s teams,” Lyons said. “I’m really impressed with them, and I’m proud of them.”
For Johnson, being a computer science major while also running cross country has been a challenge. However, he feels it’s been worth it and he wouldn’t change a thing.
“It’s not been easy. There’s been some times where I’d be up, like, super late doing homework just because I’m in computer science. So I’d be up super late some days and show up to practice at seven the next day and run and then take a little nap before going off to class,” Johnson said. “That part’s a little hard balancing it all, but it was worth it. I mean, I’m at the end. It was fun all the way through, and I wouldn’t change the thing about it.”
On Friday, both the men’s and women’s teams finished in the bottom half of their respective meets. The men finished seventh out of 12 in their 8K race, while the women’s team finished eighth out of 10 in their 6K race.
Despite the results, each senior was ultimately proud of their performance. Salinas in particular, who was sick the day before, was very nervous going into the race but credits her teammates for getting her through it.
“Yesterday, I was very sick. I had food poisoning. I threw up six times, so I was very nervous going into it and didn’t have a lot of confidence in myself,” Salinas said. “The girls on the team really pushed me, and were telling me ‘You can do it Daisy, it’s 50% mental.’ I mentally told myself, just keep going. Keep going, keep pushing, finish the race. The goal was to finish today and that’s all I did. I’m proud of myself.”
As for what’s next, the senior trio only have a couple of meets remaining in their collegiate careers but they each want to leave a lasting impression on the program and their younger teammates.
“My main advice is honestly, I mean, it’s basic, but just don’t give up. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in your own times and that you feel slow,” Johnson said. “Look in, see what you’re doing wrong and how you can fix it, and trust your teammates to help you get there.”
