Cross country runner Rita Jorgensen has taken first place individually in the VU-Belmont Opener and the Commodore Classic, leading her team to consecutive first-place finishes in both races. The stellar sophomore spoke with The Vanderbilt Hustler about her greatest strength as a runner, what led her to choose Vanderbilt and what role she hopes to play over the rest of her collegiate career.

Vanderbilt Hustler: How does it feel to lead your team to back-to-back overall victories?
Rita Jorgensen: The two races were great wins for our team, and I really wanted to come to Vanderbilt to run and help build the team. This season, our team has already gotten stronger.

VH: Only being a sophomore, how have you seen your running mentality change as you excel at a collegiate level?
RJ: My times have dropped from last year on the two courses we've run so far. This year I'm thinking more about the team, and trying to pull everyone along so that we have a chance to get to nationals.

VH: What are your personal and team goals this season?
RJ: I really want to see our team make it to nationals, and I want to make sure that I'm improving as the season progresses.

VH: What do you do to get ready for meets?
RJ: I just do my warm-up, my stretches and my strides, and I try to get myself mentally ready for the race ahead.

VH: What would you say is your greatest asset as a runner?
RJ: During a race, it's my patience. If I'm not feeling so hot, I just have to say to myself that other people around me probably aren't feeling too good either, so let's not give up now, let's wait and see what happens.

VH: What's your general strategy for a race?
RJ: I like to start out with a medium to slow pace, keeping people within a distance where I can catch them, and then start to speed up. I feel really confident when I'm at that point.

VH: You run both cross country and track for the Commodores - which one do you prefer?
RJ: I like track better. I like running the 1500, and it's faster and easier to focus on. Cross country is longer, and it's a lot easier to get distracted.

VH: Which one of your accomplishments stands out in your mind?
RJ: Probably the Vandy Track Invite last year, I beat some of my competition and ran a PR. It was awesome to do it at the Vanderbilt Track as well.

VH: As a civil engineering major, how are you able to balance your coursework with your daily training?
RJ: I'm busy a lot, but I really like to be busy. At the beginning of the semester it's a little bit stressful because you don't really know what you need to do for each of your classes, but then you start to get a rhythm down.

VH: What made you choose Vanderbilt as a school?
RJ: The coach was new and really excited about the program. He graduated from Vanderbilt and he wanted to build a really strong running program. I wanted to major in civil engineering, and I really like the engineering program here as well.

VH: How did your family get you interested in running?
RJ: My parents liked to do fun runs when I was little; we did a lot of 5ks. My brother was running in middle school, and I wanted to run with him.

VH: Besides running, what else do you have a passion for?
RJ: I really like waterskiing, wakeboarding, drawing and decorating.

VH: Being a sophomore, what role do you hope to take over the course of the next three years?
RJ: I would like to be seen as a leader - someone who leads by example, and is able to balance running and school, and take them both really seriously.