Editorials, Opinion If you haven’t seen Camas High School junior Alexa Efraimson’s race that captured a state title and set a national high school record, you’re missing out. It’s nothing short of incredible.
The teen running sensation owned that race from start to finish. Determination was written all over her face and evidenced in her consistent, powerful stride that never once wavered. It took her 4 minutes, 33.29 seconds to run 1,600 meters (four laps) around the track.
Simply amazing.
If you’ve followed local high school track and cross country at all, you already know that many of Efraimson’s accomplishments include winning races and shattering many records along the way. State championships in the 1,600. Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year. Nike Cross Nationals 5,000-meter champion. Gatorade Washington Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year. State cross country champion. Bronze medalist for Team USA in the 1,500-meter race, at the World Youth Track and Field Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine.
The list goes on and on, and will continue to grow.
Her accomplishments are astounding. And maybe even more incredible is the dedication it surely has taken her be able to perform at this level, at such a young age. Her coach described Efraimson as having that perfect combination of talent, drive and ambition.
It’s a combination that has created magic. And all three of those qualities were evident in each and every moment of that state title race.
