Bang! The gun fires into the air, and hurdler Kalina Ivanov is hot off the blocks. While her body explodes forward, her mind stays calm.
Since her freshman year, Ivanov has been a key proponent of the girls indoor and outdoor track teams, qualifying for divisionals every season since her sophomore year, and is now leading the team as a senior captain. Through her strong work ethic and consistency, Ivanov will continue her career at Haverford College.
Ivanov runs the 55-meter hurdles indoors and the 100-meter hurdles outdoors. Ivanov’s coach, Lee Eddy, said he chose Ivanov as a captain because of the leadership potential he saw in her.
“We have other kids that work hard, but Kalina is a special kind of person. I chose her to be one of the captains this year because she has great leadership qualities, a great work ethic and is what I would consider a perfect role model for anybody that’s just starting this sport,” Eddy said.
Being captain this year has allowed Ivanov to lead by example, while also pushing herself to improve throughout the season.
“Since I’m captain this year, I think that having that motivation is a good thing for other people. So, as captain, you want to contribute to good team spirit, but seeing it bounce off from other people makes you feel like you’ve done a job well done. That’s definitely motivated me to continue working harder for the better of the team and also better for myself,” Ivanov said.
However, Ivanov’s drive and motivation were built up from many years of practice.
“I think the most important thing for me was that my confidence grew a lot,” Ivanov said. “Throughout the years in track, all my races, all of my practicing have just taught me to be more confident in myself, and be more optimistic in myself, because that’s when I start seeing better results.”
Earlier in the season, Ivanov suffered from a few injuries, including chronic knots in her quads.
“I was struggling with a few injuries early on in the season, and I’m happy that I was able to overcome those and start running the marks that I was looking to be running, and I’m hoping to continue to progress as the season goes on and PR,” Ivanov said.
It was in Ivanov’s sophomore year when she had a breakthrough, began to see her potential that made college running feel possible. After touring Haverford in the fall of her junior year, Ivanov fell in love with the campus and team culture and decided to reach out to the coach later that year.
“Once I progressed with my junior year and my marks were getting better, I figured I’d shoot my shot with the places that I’m really passionate about. By the end of July, I had a non-verbal agreement with Haverford that I would apply early decision,” Ivanov said.
Katie Dougan, one of Ivanov’s teammates, said that Haverford will benefit greatly from the addition of Ivanov to their team.
“They’re definitely going to gain a really hard worker, but I also think they’re gaining someone that’s truly excited to be on the team, and knows the benefits of being on a team, rather than just running for herself,” Dougan said.
When reflecting on the future of her career, Ivanov said she is excited to keep growing as both a runner and an individual.
“I really love the community that track brings, and it’s just an outlet for me,” Ivanov said. “I get to go to track and turn off the rest of my worries and commit myself to improving something about who I am as an individual, regardless of whether I’m actually running better or I feel like I am.”
