Hayley Baca was always wide awake at 5 a.m., ready to run with the historically successful West Plains cross country team.
But she wasn’t resting up like most of her teammates were when the sun went down.
Instead, she was taking fast-food orders and helping customers at Wendy’s.
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“It was hard,” Baca said. “When you work a nine hour shift on your feet and then have to run the next day, I got frustrated at times. I was trying to save money and excel in cross country.”
To add to her jam-packed schedule, Baca also had to spend 30 minutes driving to school, practice and work in West Plains from her home in Pomona.
If multitasking for the last two years had an effect on her running, it didn’t show.
Baca was the top runner for a West Plains team that once again was among the state’s best. She won her conference (19:52) and district meets (19:17) and was 28th at the state meet (19:47), where the Zizzers placed 8th among Class 4 competition.
Baca said, “It was definitely a struggle. Coaches didn’t understand that I had to work, and my managers didn’t understand I had practice.”
After constantly being on the go for so long, one thing’s for certain: Baca has very strong work ethic.
“My parents never told me I had to get a job,” Baca said. “That was always my own decision. I never asked them for money to go out, or gas money.”
Now, not only does the recent graduate have two years of past experience under her belt, but she also has a promising future.
Head girls cross country coach Steve Guymon of Harding University in Arkansas was impressed with Baca’s successes and offered her a running scholarship.
Baca will head to the NCAA II school in August.
“I loved the Christian atmosphere and the coach there is amazing. I’m really looking forward to that. I thought it was the perfect fit for me,” Baca said.
Running with the talented Zizzers squad since middle school was “very demanding,” according to Baca, which made her hesitate at the thought of running in college at first.
“I had told my high school coach to not give out my name or number, but the Harding coach was the perfect fit,” Baca said. “He’s laid back. He’s going to give me the experience that I want in college. He’s very God first, school second and running third.”
Unlike a lot of college undergraduates, Baca declared that she’ll major in either criminal justice or criminology. She also plans to minor in journalism.
She even knows the exact organization she wants to work for after earning her degree: The Exodus Road in Colorado Springs, Colo., a nonprofit that implements strategic, holistic rescue for current victims of slavery.
“I’m very passionate about ending sex trafficking. That’s where my focus is. I’ve even contacted people there already about things going on,” Baca said.
She even gets to visit the organization soon as she’ll head to Colorado Springs with her parents, Rachel and Eric Brown, and younger brother, Drew, for a graduation trip next week.
But as soon as she gets back to southern Missouri, Baca can be found volunteering at her church, Genesis, and counseling runners at the annual Joe Bill Dixon camp in July.
She also hopes to volunteer at Samaritan Outreach in West Plains.
“I love volunteering and charity work,” Baca said.
