Most people would probably start to rest on their laurels and relax after taking down a 12-year school record, but senior Eva Jess is not done yet. Her eyes are set on more accomplishments with her remaining time at Texas — and beyond.
On Feb. 15, Jess shattered the five-kilometer program record time at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston with a time of 15:44.48. Less than two weeks later, she rewrote her own history book, breaking the record again with a time of 15:39.51 at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in College Station.
However, her focus was never on setting a new record. Doing so was just a bonus to an already successful season. Every race this season, Jess has set a personal record, but the El Paso native is striving to continuously improve every time her spikes hit the red.
“I haven’t reached my full potential, and each week I get a little bit closer to seeing how good I can be,” Jess said. “I think there’s still a little bit more left in there.”
Assistant coach Sarah Smith, who started coaching Jess midway through her Texas career, said that groundbreaking performances like these are vital to prepare Jess for facing opponents under brighter stadium lights.
“School records are always awesome, and school records at the University of Texas are a very big deal, but ultimately we are focused on scoring points at the SEC and NCAA level.” Smith said. “Those are the kind of performances that are necessary for that.”
Smith credits Jess’ ability to set these milestone times to her training style, as she is able to handle “a very large work volume” and can always be pushed hard in practice. Knowing Jess’ potential to run these fast times is one thing, but to back up that fitness with the right preparation is crucial.
Jess said that her relentless training spearheaded by Smith has helped her gain more confidence from one race to the next.
Throughout her time coaching Jess, Smith has noticed that she runs stronger and more efficiently, and Jess’ mental strength is another asset that helps carry her across the finish line.
“It is very rare that people are able to step on the track and PR every single time they race, but it’s a testament to her work ethic, her recovery and her desire to represent Texas at a very high level,” Smith said.
The distance runners will kick off their outdoor season at the 97th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, which take place at the end of March. The 10,000-meter race is what Smith is looking forward to because when it comes to Jess’ strongest distances, the longer, the better.
“My job is just to make sure that her training and her coaching backs that all up,” Smith said. “At the college level, the 10k is the longest that is provided, so she’s excited to attack that.”
Coming off of a not-so-stellar performance at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships, with the women’s team getting 12th place out of 16, Smith said the team will need to lean on leaders like Jess to motivate them to start the outdoor season on a high note.
“The people younger than her, or even her age, look to her and see what they’re capable of, what they can accomplish here, and every great athlete hopes that they have people behind them that accomplish even greater things,” Smith said. “Everyone on the team gets to benefit from her performances right now.”
While Jess is ready to take on her final outdoor season with the Longhorns, she also has more goals in mind after she graduates. From conquering marathons to running at the professional level, Jess is leaving the Forty Acres on track to achieve other milestones.
“I’ve really enjoyed my last four years here at the University of Texas, and I know I’m definitely going to miss it, but I’m also excited to go out and do marathons and hopefully go pro in that too,” Jess said. “I am sad to leave them, but I know that there’s more for me.”
