At 11 years old, Mariela Cipriano, a sixth grader at PS 246 in Kingsbridge, has already established herself as one of the premier track stars in all of New York City.

A member of the PS 246 Lightning running team, Mariela was chosen from thousands of candidates as the female Runner of the Year by the New York Road Runners Youth Program.

Mariela first started running four years ago when she was inspired by her older sister, Elizabeth, to join the Lightning’s team. Since then, she has been the most passionate and committed member of the team, never missing a practice or a meet and even making every optional 6 a.m. practice, says her coach Emily Sanderson.

Her dedication has led to her being named the captain of her team for the past two years. She leads by example, Sanderson says, encouraging her teammates to give their all.

At her age, boys and girls compete together in track events. Mariela nearly always finishes atop of the girls and regularly wins or comes close to winning the overall races, whether it’s distance or sprints.

Mariela says her favorite race to run is the relay race where she recently anchored the Lightning’s relay team at the 2010 Millrose Games.

The track is not the only place where Mariela excels; she is also a stellar soccer player and an honors student. She says her goals for the future are to “break a six-minute mile and to continue to run through high school and college.”

She appears on track to accomplish both of these goals and having a lot of fun along the way.