JON GERARDI/Sun-Gazette Lewisburg’s Baylee Espinosa poses after winning Class AA gold at the District 4 championships in the 1,600. Espinosa qualified for states in both the 1,600 and 3,200.

MILTON — Like all seniors, the sun finally will set on your athletic career. You put your uniform on for the final time, get onto the field — or in this case, track — for one last go, and then it’s over.

Your career wraps up as fast as the 100 takes to finish on the track.

For Lewisburg senior Baylee Espinosa, that’s where she’s at. When she steps on the track today for the 3,200, it’ll be the last time in a green and white uniform where she’ll run an individual event.

For about three minutes on Saturday at Milton after she received her gold medal in the Class AA 1,600, Espinosa reflected in an interview with media about her final time competing at districts and the upcoming state meet in Shippensburg. And there’s plenty of emotions.

Happiness, sadness, anxiety.

“Yeah, honestly I felt that since this whole season. There were times during the indoor season I was talking to my coach I was just talking to him like ‘dude, I don’t want this to end.’ You know how fast the track season goes, even though it’s statistically a long season, feels like it goes by so fast,” Espinosa said with her district gold medal around her neck. “So much of this season has been like a lot of that dread like ‘oh my gosh, it’s going to end, I don’t like that, like walls are closing in,’ but especially with having unexpected health complications with (low) iron and training type of things and tweaking, I guess what I’m doing and lifestyle choices, it was something I didn’t know if I’d even get to this point.”

For a two-time defending state champion in the mile and two mile, the thought of not being able to even compete her senior year was something she’s glad didn’t happen. She’s more than happy to be competing and, once again, be going to Shippensburg in the mile and two mile.

But, having those health issues caused Espinosa to have to re-evaluate things, and get back into training.

“It definitely has been something where I felt that mindset change, because especially when you have physical issues, it can really affect you mentally too. It was something where even when blood work results came back and I was healthy, it was very exciting and a lot to celebrate, I started training again and felt like why don’t I feel better?” Espinosa said. “It’s scary, its like my body is all frozen up. If I’m going to be honest, it’s scary feeling like I couldn’t trust my body. So many times in the season I step to the line and I’m like I can do this, and it feels like my body doesn’t follow through on what my mind knows I can do.”

Espinosa said that she learned to have to trust herself and her coaches again, and it’s paid off with one final trip to Shippensburg.

Espinosa won district gold in the 1,600 and 3,200 in Class AA yet again this year. In the two mile, the Green Dragon ran a district-record time of 10:39.06, beating out Lauren Kosek of Wellsboro who took silver in 10:43.00. The record she broke was set in 2018 by Loyalsock standout Isabel Sagar, who ran a 10:50.91.

In the 1,600, Espinosa again broke a district record when she won gold in 4:55.30, the only runner at districts to go below five minutes. She broke her own record which she set a year prior by almost four seconds.

Those health issues Espinosa had and having to trust herself on the track again may have been scary at times and frightening, but Espinosa is right back on track to how she knows she can run and times she knows she can post.

“I wanna make little Baylee proud, but I don’t wanna go out without a fight. Coming to line today, I was thinking about all the work that I missed, even days like training I missed,” Espinosa said. “It’s been hard mentally, you’ve done so much work to challenge yourself when you’re deep in that well. Letting go of all the things I couldn’t control leading up to it and running with my heart and dug deep.”

Espinosa’s 1,600 time is the top in the state entering the state meet. She’s also the only runner in Pennsylvania who won district gold with a time below five minutes. The 1,600 was competed on Friday and the 3,200 will be competed on Saturday morning.

In the 3,200, Espinosa is seeded No. 1 again with Wellsboro’s Lauren Kosek seeded second in 10:43.00. They’re the only two runners who went below 10:50 at a district meet.

Espinosa is already one of Lewisburg’s all-time greats when it comes to track and field and is extremely decorated with medals. She’s won six individual District 4 gold medals in her career (the mile in 2023 in Class AAA, the two mile in Class AAA in 2024, both in Class AA in 2025 and 2026), won a gold with the 3,200 relay in 2024 as the anchor and took silver in 2025 at districts in the 800.

At states? She’s already claimed two gold medals last season and broke the state record in the 3,200 in 10:18 last year. She also broke her mom’s school record in the mile last year (the former Ashleigh Wetzel), something she was looking forward to doing.

In cross country, Espinosa is a three-time district champion and won silver in 2025, and won state gold in cross country in 2023, medaling at states all four years. She also was an NXR first-team cross country selection and took fifth at the Nike Cross Country Nationals in 2024.

Wrap it all together, and she’s more than made an impact at Lewisburg. And while she has a bunch of accolades and medals, and records, Espinosa hopes she’s also a role model for younger track runners at Lewisburg.

“I hope so. I’m so grateful that our team is getting all these numbers as far as girls sports in general, numbers have dipped a little bit. So its so exciting to see the seniors teaching the freshmen and equip them with all tools we hope they can have,” Espinosa said. “So that when we’re done, they can step up and lead and feel comfortable getting to do it on their own. It’s been really exciting. I hope I’ve been a good role model.”

She more than has been. And Saturday’s state championships will be one last time Espinosa can showcase her talents for the Lewisburg fans in that regard.

“I was joking with my coach I have to practice what I preach with them, don’t be scared to go for it and I gotta go show them,” Espinosa said. “That was a big part of today being the first distance event, I really wanted to emulate that and show them anything is possible and set the tone.”