By ABIGAIL ALVAREZ
The Tower
Leilany Aranda Guerrero is always on the go, from running to school, running to class, and finally, running home.
She is a three-year runner with the track and cross country teams who constantly needs to be busy doing something. She is also passionate about saving the earth and consumerism.
Over the years, Guerrero has grown both as a runner and a person, becoming more confident in herself while still being able to balance athletics, academics, and clubs. She has taken multiple Advanced Placement classes, serves as vice president of the Eco Club, and is a two-sport athlete.
“It’s a little hard,” she said, “but I feel that I have decent time management skills to get everything done.”
Paul Lyons, the track coach, admires Guerrero’s dedication even on sick days and her goal to grow as much as possible.
“I always used to joke with her that I wasn’t sure if she was forced to be here, but she keeps coming out; she keeps practicing, and this sport is something you must want to do voluntarily,” Lyons said. “So, yeah, she’s been killing it for years. Even when she’s sick, she’ll run well. It’s a big testament to how hard she works.”
One of Guerrero’s biggest areas of improvement was her mental toughness and how it has improved significantly since starting in sophomore year.
Track star Leilany Aranda Guerrero sitting outside of the V-building on Oct. 26th, 2026 (Abigail Alvarez/The Tower
Guerrero is more than willing to make needed adjustments during races and to her morale. Lyons and Guerrero both speak on how constructive criticism has helped her improve.
“I think I take criticism well,” she said. “I like it because I’m able to change aspects about myself and improve my work ethic and things.”
Said Lyons: “She responds well, and it’s hard to come back from criticism from coaches, especially when you’re mid race and feeling like garbage.”
Over the years, Guerrero has improved her athletic abilities, as well as her academic and social efforts. When Guerrero first started track, she was shy and rarely spoke, but since then she was able to gradually come out of her shell and build friendships.
“The first year I joined, I didn’t talk at all and even my coach told me that I would not talk,” Guerrero said. “I feel that I've built more friendships through that.”
The environment of long-distance running meets has also been able to show Guerrero how understanding people can be to the mental challenges of the sport or being a young student-athlete. She believes that being in that environment is what kept her motivated for a lot of time.
She recognizes the community in a largely individual sport.
“The environment especially with long distances, because I feel like people know how hard it is mentally to run long distances,” she said. “So, everybody at meets, they’re more encouraging than other sports.”
Outside of track and cross country, Guerrero also juggles AP classes and is the vice president of the Eco Club. Balancing these commitments can be overwhelming or stressful, but she is able to stay organized.
“When I started balancing all these things, I realized I couldn’t stay up as late as I wanted to, and I couldn’t have fun whenever I wanted to or go out as much,” she said. “I’m a little bit stricter on myself now.”