The starter pistol’s shot rings out. Senior and girls indoor track captain Thalia Goessling blasts out of the starting blocks. Her face is set in an expression of determination as she extends her stride and flies around the track. The 300 meter at The Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center is just one of many in Goessling’s track career, a career to which she has committed to continuing at Colorado College next fall.
Goessling began her running career in elementary school cross-country races and joined the high school’s track team in the spring of her freshman year. Ever since then, Goessling has grown into a dedicated athlete and leader of her team.
Girls track and field head coach Lee Eddy has trained with Goessling since her first year and said she has always been a dependable athlete, even during her first season.
“Her more mature approach to things, in part, comes from age and in part comes from experience in the sport,” Eddy said. “She does so many things other than track and she’s always handled them well.”
Alumnus Dasha Le’Faivre ‘24 began running with Goessling during her sophomore year and said Goessling has a positive outlook on everything, an attitude which reflects well in her racing. According to Le’Faivre, athletes can experience many ups and downs, but Goessling has taken her own in stride.
“You have injuries and setbacks, and I feel like I’ve seen her, a lot within the last couple of years, learn to overcome those and learn to push through those and come out the other end even stronger,” Le’Faivre said.
Goessling not only raises spirits but also rises to the occasion. Le’Faivre said that when there weren’t enough captains to direct sprinters last year, Goessling stepped up to the plate.
“She’s also a natural leader. Watching her lead people and take on that role when no one was there to fill it was important to see,” Le’Faivre said. “She’s good at leading people, showing people how to do things and helping others through the drills or things that they might not know.”
In addition to her role in the team community, Eddy said Goessling is an essential part of the competitiveness and success of the team.
“In 2023 we won the indoor division championships and she was on our 4×200 relay which placed, and our 4×400 relay which placed; she stepped up and gave us a good leg,” Eddy said. “She’s a good, natural speed athlete, but she’s also got a good endurance side.”
According to Goessling, there wasn’t only one defining feature that drew her to Colorado College. Goessling was drawn by the hiking opportunities, the college’s block schedule and the running program.
“I visited in the summer, and it was like nothing I had ever experienced. The team was amazing and the coaches were amazing,” Goessling said.
After three years of experience on the track team, Goessling said one important thing is that, as a runner, you can make connections wherever you are.
“When I’m competing with these girls, they’re my opponents but I’m making really good friends out of them,” she said. “Because I see them so often we’re always racing the same things and it’s really just fun to make new connections with people I normally would have never met.”
As she heads into a new season, Goessling said there is one lesson she wished she could have told her younger self: nothing is too serious.
“Every track season you race like what, 20 times?” Goessling said. “Even if you don’t like the way you run, or you fall, you’re always going to have a next race in front of you.”
Eddy is looking forward to Goessling’s senior year and final year on the track team.
“I hope that this will be her best year in high school. I don’t have a crystal ball [to] know for sure, but she’s got all the tools physically and mentally,” Eddy said. “She’s a pretty tough kid, so hopefully it’ll all fall together and she’ll blaze out of here and blaze out to Colorado.”