Annie Leyba (’29) is the newest Athlete of the Week! Annie is a freshman on our Cross Country team at Sonoma Academy and has already blossomed into a leader of the unit. Annie received powerful peer recommendations nominating her for the Athlete of the Week and praise from Coach Puppione, who said the following:
“Annie lives our mission in every way possible. She shows up with purpose, works with intent, and gives herself fully to her teammates and the team. She leads not by words, but by steady example—consistent, humble, relentless. By acting in the best interest of the team, she’s been rewarded with her own moments of individual success as well.
She is off to a great start as a runner here at SA, and it will be fun to see just how far (and fast) she can go.”
What is your favorite memory of your sport?
I have to say after the Roughriders’ invitational meet. It was a few weeks ago. I was in Clovis, and I got a really good PR, and I was very happy about it! The race itself was torture, but after it, I was very happy, because we did so well.
Who is your inspiration?
Everyone on the team is just so awesome. You can look at everyone as inspiration, because they’re all really cool.
Do you have a hype song you listen to before running?
Yeah, I like to listen to Stray Kids (it’s K-pop), before meets. I’ll just listen on my computer.
Do you have a pre-meet ritual?
Yeah, I like to braid my hair. I have someone braid my hair. And in a few races, in the earlier season, we used to write on our arms in Sharpie!
There are probably a few freshmen on the team or underclassmen that are looking to join a varsity sport. Do you have any tips for them?
I think working hard is really important because I wasn’t super good at the beginning because you had to run competitively before. I think if you just put a bunch of work into it, then you’re gonna do great!
