Hailing from Waverly, NY, freshman Sheridan Talada joins the Binghamton cross country and distance track program.

During her time at Waverly High School Talada set five program records and finished 15th overall at the 2019 New York State (NYS) Class C cross country meet. She graduated as the salutatorian of her class and was part of the National Honor Society.

Talada shares why she chose Binghamton, her proudest moments in her running career so far, what she is looking forward to as practices begin and more.
 
Why did you choose to attend Binghamton University?
 
I chose Binghamton because of the opportunities the school will give me to be the best version of myself both academically and athletically. Even amid a pandemic the university has found ways to provide students with the best resources possible to succeed. I also love the bonds that all the girls on the team have with each other. Even though cross country can be an individual sport, having a strong team atmosphere is so important for the team's success, which is very important to me. 
 
What is it that you love the most about your sport?
 
What I love most about cross country and track is the objectiveness of them. You only get out what you put into these sports, and there aren't any referees or coaches who can get in the way of that.
 
What have been your greatest individual and team accomplishments?
 
My greatest individual accomplishment was medaling at my senior cross country state meet. Medaling at states had always been a huge goal of mine, so to achieve that goal my senior year meant a lot to me. Team-wise, my greatest accomplishment was being a part of the 4x800 relay that medaled at states. My school never had a 4x800 relay that had medaled at states before so being a part of that relay was really special.
 
What has been your favorite cross country or track memory?
 
My favorite memory is my junior year outdoor state meet. I come from a pretty small high school, so if we even have one person qualify for states it's a pretty big deal. My junior year we had 8 athletes qualify for states, which made the weekend super fun. Our 4x800 relay ended up medaling at states and breaking our school record at that meet as well, which made the weekend even more memorable. We were only 2 seconds off the school record before that race, so breaking it at our last meet of the season was super awesome.
 
 Do you have any pre-race rituals or superstitions? 
 
Two hours before every race I will always eat a banana. I have never run at a cross country or track meet without eating my banana first, and I'm not sure if I ever will.
 
 What is something most people do not know about you?
 
When I was in seventh grade I won a pumpkin at a modified cross country race. The race was at a local pumpkin farm, so they gave out pumpkins to the winner of each race. To be honest that may have been my greatest running achievement to this day, because you really can't top winning a pumpkin.
 
What would you consider your best non-athletic talent?
 
My best non-athletic talent would probably be cooking. Over quarantine I ended up cooking/baking quite a bit because there wasn't much else to do. Plus, I love food, so baking/cooking for the fam is just another excuse to eat more.
 
What were some challenges that COVID-19 presented as you finished up your senior year of high school?
 
Having the end of senior year canceled because of COVID was pretty upsetting, especially missing out on a final track season. Going into the outdoor track season I was coming off a knee injury from indoor track, so I was really excited to be running healthy for outdoor. Throughout the whole spring, all my teachers tried their best to have virtual senior events for us though, which ended up being really nice. Fortunately, I also live in a small town that had practically no cases, so we were able to hold some small senior events and a safe in-person graduation in June, so I was able to see my classmates one last time.   
 
What has been your mindset as you begin your college career under these unique circumstances?

My mindset throughout COVID has just been to keep working and to stay motivated. I know at some point we'll have a chance to compete, so for now my goal is to healthy, be consistent, and have fun with training with my new teammates! 
 
What major to you intend to pursue? What are your career goals?
 
 I intend to major in physics and possibly minor in math, which hopes of becoming a high school physics/math teacher (and hopefully a coach) one day.
 
What are you most looking forward to as we get ready to start workouts and practices?
 
As practices and workouts start up again, I'm most excited to be running with my teammates. I love running, but sometimes running by yourself all the time gets a little boring, so having a great group of teammates to run with again is super exciting.