All-American Sanjuanita “Sam” Martinez ’16
Six-time All-American in women’s cross country (2), women’s indoor track & field (2), and women’s outdoor track & field (2)
B.A., philosophy and Spanish- J.D., Drake Law School
- Defense attorney with the Mason City, Iowa, Public Defender’s Office
- Assistant high school cross country and track & field coach, Mason City High School
- Engaged to Patrick Mason; one son born March 21, 2022
What was a significant failure you faced, and how did you overcome it?
A significant athletic failure I faced was my inability to repeatedly qualify in the indoor mile. I qualified the winter of my junior year, but come senior year I just wasn’t running fast enough. I decided to try something new—the indoor 5K—mainly to see what I could do, as I’d never raced that distance before and to start strategizing what I would be racing at Conference to do my part in helping the team scores. To my surprise, an event I had always said I’d never do ended up being the event to guarantee me an appearance at Indoor Nationals. Sometimes the path or direction you take doesn’t always work, and refocusing can help you achieve the same goals, just in a different way. I use that same approach to this day. After graduating from law school I failed the first bar exam by less than 10 points. I refocused and approached it a little differently the second time and scored far higher than necessary to pass.
What’s a lesson you learned from a coach, teammate or faculty mentor?
as a student-athlete.
As a freshman, I was very lucky to have captains and upperclassmen on the team who were empowering and supportive. I was never ridiculed or dismissed for having dreams and goals that didn’t exactly match my performance at the time. The biggest lesson I learned from them was that one person doesn’t make a team and a team can take you further than you could ever imagine. It didn’t matter how fast I ran. Without my amazing teammates, we wouldn’t have won the Midwest Conference Championship meet. If it weren’t for my teammates’ support, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
