From a petty rivalry to the Sunbelt Conference’s Freshman of the Year, Carlo Martinez-Jaramillo proves that anything is possible through determination and hard work.
Jaramillo was born in California but spent five years of his life in Mexico. Jaramillo attended a private school while living in Mexico, and it was there that he and his family realized his talent in cross country. Jaramillo and his family eventually moved to Gatesville, Texas, which is where he resided until moving to ULM for college.
“It was rough growing up because I could not speak any English, and I was not particularly good at English until the fifth grade. Though I had a tough time communicating, I could speak some broken English in my younger years which allowed me to play tag with the kids,” Jaramillo said. “Playing tag made me realize I was much quicker than the other kids, and that spiraled into running my first mile in the fourth grade, where I posted a 6:56 time. Past that, I continued to get better, and I knew cross country was for me when I broke into the five-minute barrier as a four-foot-tall sixth grader.”
Approaching the end of his sophomore cross country season, a newspaper article was written about his teammate, Luis. Jaramillo states that at the time, Luis was a much better runner than him, which the newspaper mentioned many times
“It read, ‘If you want to come watch a real runner, come watch Luis Macias at the Gatesville home meet.’ Suffice it to say, that article lit a fire under me. Long story short, that home meet was my first time ever to beat Luis Macias,” Jaramillo said.
In his junior year of high school, Jaramillo missed the University Interscholas tic League (UIL) at the University of Texas at Austin. He mentions that with his time, he could have placed third in the 4A meet.
“Going to watch my sister run the race I should have been in was painful,” Jaramillo said. “After the boy’s 3200m race, I looked at my athletic director, and with full confidence, I told him ‘I will be here next year.’”
Following that conversation with his coach, Jaramillo began training over the summer for the first time. He began a regime with “BTR Track Club,” and later into his senior year with “Tinman, or Thomas Schwartz.” Jaramillo states that both programs were better than what his old high school coach had to offer.
“The training was the start of something great,” Jaramillo said. “I posted a 14:29 three mile to open my senior cross-country season, following that, I went on to visit six Division 1 schools, and one Division 2. Of the ladder choosing ULM.”
Jaramillo continued to improve and eventually finished as state champion in the UIL 4A 3200m race, running a solo effort 9:14, and state runner-up, posting 4:19, on the same day.
“Cross country has given me confidence, and grit,” Jaramillo said. “It made me realize that talent is not everything. To be great, you must put forth the effort.”
Jaramillo’s goal is to run cross country in the Olympics for either Mexico or the United States. However, if he is unable to compete in the Olympics, Jaramillo wishes to go pro and continue to train in the sport as it has done so much for him to just let it go.
Jaramillo would like to thank God, his family, friends and girlfriend, Hannah Habisreitinger, for all their support in his endeavors.