LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Tomorrow morning, your Biola Eagles will take to the starting line at the NCCAA's Cross Country Championships, hosted by the College of Ozarks, in Point Lookout, Mo. With a tough terrain ahead of them, one of the team's senior captains, Kaili Waller, shared with us her excitement, and journey, leading up to this closing race of her cross country career.

"I'm really excited. It's senior year, and I just want to run with heart and passion, because it's my last race, ever, and so I just want to enjoy it," said Waller. "We made it to Missouri, and just being here it's beautiful and I just want to race it with my best friends and give it all we have!"

The women's team has fought hard all season long for their spot at nationals, and they are well deserving of their position at this championship race. For Waller personally, her time with the cross country team has been full of facing adversity with many ups and downs dealing with injuries, but ultimately, God has used her story to inspire others on the team through how she's chosen to focus on Him, over her circumstances.

She highlighted how  her running career definitely did not turn out as she expected coming into college, but in the end her faith stretched her belief that God was reminding her of her identity in Him all along, and her teammates, served as a great resource of that reminder.

"I just found the girls on the team to be such a positive influence, and I had never been in a strong community of Christians that were super strong, and they not only, were good influences with running, but it was more of being positive influences of being a good person," said Waller. "[ [At] the end of my freshman year I had to get my appendix removed, and that was the first little trial that I had ever had with an injury. The following year I really struggled with running, and I think God was trying to teach me a lot during that time, because [I had serious injuries], and I think it was God's way of telling me, your identity is not rooted in your running. It was a way for me to slow down. He had to knock me down, not just once, but twice."

After these major trials fighting for health, Waller headed into her junior year with an amazing spirit of positivity, despite her previously difficult seasons.

"My junior year, I was so excited and I had trained really hard during the summer," said Waller. Then I go out there, and get another injury, and it was the most frustrating thing, I've ever had happen."

This was a such a challenging time in Waller's career, but she handled with confidence, trusting that her service to her teammates on the sideline was making the most of her time, cheering them on during workouts and at meets.

This past summer, Waller had the opportunity to serve on a Biola missions trip through the Student Missions Union, and this allowed her to reflect on the perspective she needed coming into her final kick of running a cross country season.

"Here we are senior year, and it's crazy that I'm here, but I'm really thankful," said Waller. "I guess coming back from Ukraine this summer I just realized that, yes, running is important to me, but it's not everything. Sometimes my shin will hurt again, and I'm like, 'Oh!,' that's God's way of teaching me He's in control… I'm just thankful that I've had a strong, supportive Christian group here and girls that still really care about me."

Ultimately, her faith, and the diversity of personalities on the team, have created the relationships Waller has needed to help her thrive, regardless of injuries. Just last week she finished among Biola's top-5 at the PacWest championship meet, helping the team get the third-place finish they needed to reach nationals this week.

Some fun facts about Waller are that she's an elementary education major, with hopes to teach physical education to kids one day and also be a cross country and track coach, if the opportunity presents itself.

However, growing up, and sometimes even to this day, she always wanted to be a wedding planner and a home designer! She enjoys the artsy, creative aspects of things in the home, and could see herself making a living that way, but for now, she'll stick with teaching PE.

We also asked Waller that that if she could eat anything Coach Henning wouldn't recommend to her, what it would be,

"Loaded, fat, BBQ ribs, I want lots of BBQ sauce on it, and I want some corn on the cob, with lots of butter, and I want mashed potatoes, even a baked potato, throw it in there, and sourdough bread, throw that on too and kinda some zucchini on the side!"

And what about dessert?

"I like so many, but right now, I'm just craving an apricot cobbler, with some vanilla ice cream."

Thanks for the laughs, and for sharing with us how your faith has fought through your physical battles during your cross country career!

Follow the Eagles' chase for a NCCAA Title on Saturday Nov. 10 at 9:00 a.m. PT using the live results located at TRXCTiming.com.