Lights! Camera! Action! – or is it Ready, Set, Go?
For senior cross country runner Angelina Cabrera one day, it was a little of both.
During her sophomore year, Cabrera helped film a commercial advertising Arizona Athletics. The plug, which also co-stars cornerback Antoine Cason, is usually aired during nationally televised sporting events in which Arizona teams participate, like the football game against then-No. 10 USC on Oct. 13.
“”I got a call from Kate Jensen in the (Arizona) Athletics promotion department,”” Cabrera said. “”And she wanted to know if I’d be interested in doing the promo.””
The promotion’s intent was to incorporate both athletics and academics and how both impact the university and its students. Many other institutions in the Pacific 10 Conference have filmed similar ads.
My responsibility is to be a leader. But everyone works together and the team dynamic is such that they don’t have to rely on me.
Angelina Cabrera, cross country athlete
“”I was honored to do it,”” Cabrera said. “”It was only a 30-second promo, but it took a whole day of filming with a lot of different takes. I had never acted before and it was fun – and it was great to work with Antoine.””
Despite enjoying the experience, Cabrera acknowledged that it was a “”one-time”” thing, She is focused on Saturday’s Pac-10 Championships in Corvallis, Ore., and trying to reach the NCAA National Championships in her final cross country season as a Wildcat.
She is the only senior on either of the Arizona squads but doesn’t feel any added pressure.
“”My responsibility is to be a leader,”” she said. “”But everyone works together and the team dynamic is such that they don’t have to rely on me.””
Whether she knows it or not, her leadership and experience have greatly benefited some of her younger teammates.
“”At first, it was a struggle to adjust from high school to college,”” said freshman Kassidy Rede. “”But she is a great leader, with a lot of experience.
“”I can go to her about a race or a workout or if I’m not feeling up to par,”” she added. “”She’s been a big help for me and my roommate (fellow freshman Maggie Callahan).””
Arizona head coach James Li agreed with Rede.
“”(Angelina) has great leadership qualities and a lot of experience,”” he said. “”She’s been great and she’ll certainly be missed next year.
“”But that’s the nature of college sports,”” he added. “”You just hope that they’ll be there forever, but every four years, they move on.””
Cabrera said that she has enjoyed this year the most, and is trying to postpone the nostalgic senior memories as she looks ahead to the Pac-10 Championships. At Oct. 6’s Pre-NCAA’s event in Terre Haute, Ind., she finished the 8-kilometer race in 22:08, good for 134th place.
“”I’m confident in the team,”” she said. “”No one has peaked yet, and we all still have room for improvement. We’re all in this together.””
