WRITTEN BY SHELLY BRANDON
COOL KIDS: DELLA & IRESH MOLINA If you’ve listened to the news, or picked up a newspaper, chances are you’ve heard of Iresh and Della Molina, eighteen year old twins who’ve taken the local running world by storm. These vivacious young women are seniors at Chico High who’ve spent the last four years on both the cross country and track teams. Sitting down to talk to Della and Iresh about their time at Chico High and their future plans, you’re struck by their infectious positive energy and their love of their school and sport. Della highlights Chico High’s enthusiasm and says that spirit days are a favorite memory for her because so many people participate and work to make it special. “This year’s lip dub was so much fun, and I had so much fun doing it.” Iresh loves the camaraderie of the cross country and track teams, and both agree that it’s the people who’ve had the most impact on their time at Chico High. Iresh really enjoys her AP literature class, “I love the discussions. I love English, and it seems like a lot of other people in the class feel the same way.” Della’s enjoying her speech and debate class, “I love the class because my favorite part of school is presentations, and basically it’s all that. We do impromptus, where we speak for one minute about a random topic our teacher puts up on the board.” 62
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Being ranked in the top 3 for the 1600 and 3200-meter in track and first and second in the Northern Section for cross country didn’t just happen for these girls. When asked how long they’ve been running, they both say they started in third grade with Girls On The Run, and then they officially started competing as freshmen. Iresh says when she’s running it makes her feel more focused. “I have to work at not tripping, staying on pace, watching my form, and keeping my breath even. And even though I’m expending all that energy, it makes me feel more relaxed.” Della thinks of running as a good way to decompress and stop thinking about things other than running. “When I was a freshman, it used to be about just getting it over with, but now I feel more connected. It’s nice to be out in nature and just notice things more, like hearing the birds and looking at the green grass and just being more peaceful.” Next year, both Della and Iresh will be attending Chico State in the kinesiology program and running on the Division II Wildcat Cross Country Team which they are beyond excited about. Chico, California, and the rest of the U.S., are sure to hear more about the Molina twins throughout their future college career, and we can’t wait to see where it takes them!
