“Elizabeth Harita.” A name I hope will one day invoke fear and awe in the hearts of anyone who hears it. But for now, Elizabeth Harita ’22 only has to wow the Rosary community with her sensational athletic skills.

Last Sunday, Dec. 5, Elizabeth represented Team USA at the Xterra World Championship Triathlon in Hawaii. Yeah, you heard me right. This girl you may have passed on the way to class proudly wears a Team USA kit and represents her country on the world stage.

This triathlon in particular was incredibly grueling. Elizabeth shared: “I was disappointed that the swim was cancelled because its my strongest leg of the race. It was also challenging to race in the rain and mud.” The race was modified to a duathlon with a 3 km run, 31 km mountain bike, and 10.5 km run.

To many, these distances might seem crazy and unattainable, but to Elizabeth, this is light work. Her journey as a multisport athlete has led her to complete bike rides of over 100 miles and open water swims of distances longer than most people can run.

Now, getting to the place she is now was no mean feat. Elizabeth has been competing in triathlons since she was six years old. Motivated largely by her father and Servite graduate, Adam Harita ’90, Elizabeth competes not only in triathlons, but also in mountain and road bike races all over Orange County.

As a personal friend of Elizabeth, I can also attest to her great humility in all respects. Inarguably, she is way cooler than me, yet she never rubs her accomplishments in anyone’s face. As her teammate, I benefit everyday from having a constant, hardworking presence like her to keep me motivated.

Basically, Elizabeth is the human manifestation of everything that is good and perfect in this world. She will undoubtedly be successful in anything she does. Rosary Academy is lucky to have such an inspiring, talented woman as a member of its student body.