UW's Sofia Cosculluela wins Huskies' first heptathlon title at NCAA championships
Sophomore Sofia Cosculluela made Husky history over the weekend when she won the University of Washington's first heptathlon national title.
Her performance helped the UW women's track and field team place seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. Cosculluela's teammate, Amanda Moll, also took home an individual title in the pole vault with her twin sister Hana Moll finishing second.
Cosculluela, 22, is from Spain and grew up in Madrid. The first time she came to the U.S. was to visit UW. The next time was to start her career as a collegiate athlete on Montlake. Adjusting to being away from home and an entirely new environment with different training and routines took time. But that's part of what makes the NCAA win so special.
"My family called me unstoppable," Cosculluela said, explaining her family's reaction to the win. "They are just so proud of me and everything I am accomplishing."
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Her family is in Spain and wasn't able to travel out for the championships. But Cosculluela said they stayed up to watch each of her events, despite the time difference, and would send her texts after each one.
"I am so happy to have such a supportive family," she said. "Sports was always in my family and my brother plays rugby. We are really into it and we know how to support each other.
A heptathlon consists of seven events, split over two days. On the first day, athletes compete in the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200-meter sprint. The second day includes long jump, javelin and the 800-meter race.
Cosculluela placed sixth at last year's NCAA championships. She entered the second day in fifth place with her two strongest events coming up.
She opened day two with a personal-best performance in the long jump which also broke her own school record. She had a season-best throw in the javelin that moved her into first place, and offered a cushion going into the final event of the day.
Cosculluela placed first with 6,182 points, setting a new personal best and school record. She expressed gratitude toward her coaches who she said gave her patience as she navigated a foreign environment.
"I'm really glad they were open-minded and trying to figure out what was best training wise, " Cosculluela said. "I feel like in my second year here, we definitely figured it out. We really know which ways to move, what's better for me and what works."
While Cosculluela had competed at some of the highest levels in Spain, being a student and an athlete hadn't been intertwined. In Spain, athletes compete for clubs and attend college separately.
"Everything was a change," Cosculluela said. "I've never been so integrated in this kind of system before … I needed to figure out what works but also just let me body and mind adapt to all of the new things."
Her parents have visited her in Seattle once, but she hopes that they'll have another chance to come back and see more of her life here. Cosculluela said her friends and family back home are "fascinated" and "amazed" when she tells them about her experiences at UW.
"Also, they're just happy for me that I can find myself here and feel good about it too," she added.
Cosculluela's teammates cheered her on throughout her events, despite many of them being done competing.
"I definitely felt their support and I'm just happy to be (on) this amazing team here in Seattle," Cosculluela said.
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