Beach Nov 2016
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Chittenden cont. from page 37<br />
and is also on the varsity squad.”<br />
Melia feels cross country has<br />
made her a better distance runner<br />
during the spring track and field<br />
season.<br />
“Cross country translates well to<br />
the track season,” Chittenden said.<br />
“It’s a combination of physical and<br />
mental toughness. It builds a strong<br />
foundation for endurance. We average<br />
running 40-50 miles per week,<br />
much less than<br />
in track. Mentally,<br />
in cross<br />
country you<br />
could be competing<br />
with a<br />
field of 100-200<br />
runners while<br />
on the track,<br />
there is a much<br />
smaller number<br />
of competitors.”<br />
As much as<br />
Chittenden enjoys<br />
cross country,<br />
it was on<br />
the track where<br />
she has experienced<br />
her most<br />
memorable moments<br />
as a runner.<br />
At the CIF-SS<br />
Masters Meet<br />
on May 27<br />
Chittenden was<br />
competing in<br />
the 3200-meter<br />
race needing a<br />
time of 10:35 to<br />
qualify for the<br />
State Championships.<br />
“During the<br />
last lap, I knew<br />
it would be<br />
tough to make<br />
the time,” Chittenden<br />
said. “At<br />
the 200m mark<br />
I had 40 seconds<br />
to make it<br />
then a thought<br />
entered my<br />
mind. I said to<br />
myself ‘Oh well,<br />
the prom is the<br />
same day as State so it won’t be so<br />
bad.’ Suddenly, I sprinted the fastest<br />
I ever have in my life. I looked at<br />
the clock and saw my time was<br />
10:32. I started crying.”<br />
A few weeks earlier at the Bay<br />
League championships, Chittenden<br />
experience a magical moment with<br />
teammate Alexis Johnson.<br />
Senior Melia Chittenden won the first<br />
Bay League cross country meet outdistancing<br />
the nearest runner by more<br />
than 11 seconds. Photo by Ray Vidal<br />
“Alexis was trying to break 11<br />
minutes and we were pushing each<br />
other throughout the race,” Chittenden<br />
recalled. “She finished second<br />
at 10:59 just behind my 10:57.”<br />
Chittenden said Williams-Smith<br />
has been a major influence on her,<br />
not just on the track but in life.<br />
“Coach Renee is the best coach<br />
I’ve ever had,” Chittenden said.<br />
“She is such an inspiration being the<br />
first girl to run<br />
cross country<br />
at Mira Costa<br />
and then run at<br />
Kansas State.<br />
She teaches<br />
you to run for<br />
yourself and<br />
for her. I hate<br />
to let her<br />
down. I’m almost<br />
afraid to<br />
run for another<br />
coach when I<br />
get to college.<br />
It will be so<br />
different.<br />
“Also, when I<br />
was a sophomore,<br />
I admired<br />
Natasha<br />
Brunstein, She<br />
wasn’t our<br />
fastest runner<br />
but was a very<br />
intense, determined<br />
person<br />
who is now<br />
running for<br />
New York University.<br />
She<br />
helped shape<br />
who I am<br />
today.”<br />
Chittenden<br />
plans to compete<br />
in college<br />
but has yet to<br />
decide on a<br />
school, weighing<br />
her many<br />
options.<br />
She has visited<br />
Princeton<br />
and Northwestern<br />
and has offers<br />
to visit the<br />
University of Pennsylvania and UC<br />
Berkeley.<br />
“I plan to run in college but the<br />
school has to have a top academic<br />
program and a program where I<br />
can study abroad,” Chittenden explained.<br />
“I want to experience<br />
everything I can in college.”<br />
Boasting a weighted GPA of 4.2,<br />
38 Easy Reader / <strong>Beach</strong> magazine • <strong>Nov</strong>ember 10, <strong>2016</strong>