Story & photos By David Angulo
Limits are only found in one’s mind. They are ever present when a body is still, with no action, direction, or motivation acting on it. When the body is still, the mind begins to draw limits. If one were to try to identify and define the limits of Hailey Black, they would come out concluding that there are none.
Being a bold, courageous, and energetic 17 year old track runner, Hailey Black, has overcome many of her life’s challenges and pushed through her limits every single day through sport. Hailey has been legally blind since birth but has not let this condition define her life. She has been running for 10 years and has tried gymnastics, barrel racing, cross country, and basketball before finally landing on her main squeeze, track and field. “There is nothing difficult in [this] sport except for one’s mentality,” says Hailey when being asked about competing for some of her events, the 100-,200- and 400, 4×200 meter, and 4×400 meter events. As a freshman in high school, Hailey was already competing for a spot on the varsity squad and started to become a force to be reckoned with at every meet.
For Hailey, the track field is her home. “If I’m having a bad day, I look forward to 8th period… Everything just leaves and I do my math equations in my head and just run.” Comparing her days as a cross country athlete, Hailey explains, “It was something that never changed. It stayed constant and I’m at the point now where I can remember every little divot and rough patch at every track I’ve run on.” She runs by guiding herself off the lines on the track, guidance from her coach, and running some calculations in her head. “It’s like memory… each 100 [meters] I have 16 steps here which means I have this many steps more to go for this next 200.”
When most kids are out for summer, Hailey is training and doing workouts at RXN Athletics and with her coach, Aldo Gonzalez at Eastlake High School. “I push all my kids, and want them to compete [at their highest level].” Coach Gonzalez uses a whistle to let Hailey know about her splits and help time her better for competition. As a coach at Eastlake since it opened, Coach Gonzalez has created his mark and begun to leave a legacy of highly trained track athletes that are put through well structured and thought out track workouts. “I think that’s the beauty of getting to run. Yes, you can mentally prepare for it but at the end of the day you’re still going to have to do it, “ says Coach Gonzalez of his athletes who look forward to their last class of the day.
Hailey is not just a standout athlete, she is also a top student, scoring A’s and B’s despite her physical condition. Her mom, Candace Ontiveros, explains how Hailey has been an inspiration for her when it comes to overcoming challenges. “You’d never guess she has a vision disability… It’s difficult for her come testing in the classroom because she requires modifications and is sometimes afraid to speak up thinking that other students will make fun of her. [But] these things, I look at her and she continues to move forward.”
Her motivation to excel goes beyond overcoming her visual disabilities and shows the bond and strength of family. Hailey says her motivation to run comes from her younger cousin, who also has a visual disability, a long term side effect of fighting cancer at a younger age. “His left eye is the one that gives him problems and her (Hailey’s) left eye is her worst one of the two and this has allowed them to bond closely with each other,” says Mrs. Ontiveros. When asked if they Hailey and her cousin work out together, Hailey laughs and says “Yes, I take him to go run with me, and he hates me afterwards.
As every runner knows, there are times when our body doesn’t want to run or the motivation just isn’t there. It is those times that Hailey says she digs in deep and reminds herself, “…If you’re able to get over your eyesight you can get through this,” providing insight into how she approaches her mental barriers.
As she heads into the local USATF Championships, Hailey says “I’m nervous but I’m also well prepared. It’s gong to help me be better for my teammates and for myself. Since it’s also senior year I want to leave my little mark on the track that I’ve made these past 4 years. This weekend I feel I need to show [up] and show my coach that all our hard work we’ve put in together is going to pay off.”
