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Wednesday, October 11, 2000
Smith is ready Cheryl Smith recalls finding herself in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in late March 1999.
to run with best
UH's top cross-country runner
will take her talent to the San
Luis Obispo Invitational
on SaturdayBy Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinAround her at the start of the IAAF Junior Women's World Cross Country Championships were about 120 of the planet's best 19-and-under female harriers.
"It was amazing to be in that field," said Smith, who was only a freshman at State University of New York-Cortland when she earned a berth on U.S.A. Track and Field's world team.
"It was very, very muddy and people were losing their shoes, although some Kenyans didn't wear shoes," said Smith, who finished 52nd in the sloppy Irish park.
That was a year and a half ago and 10,000 miles away.
Today, Smith is a University of Hawaii junior who's done something no one has ever done for Johnny Faerber's cross-country program.
She's won a Division I meet wearing Hawaii's colors.
And not just one, but three in a row.
It's a new level of collegiate competition for Smith, who won Division III national championships in cross country and 10,000 meters as a freshman at SUNY-Cortland.
When she toes the line with her Wahine teammates at the San Luis Obispo Invitational on Saturday, she'll be facing the toughest competition of her new Division I career.Among the runners she'll have to race with will be sizzling UCLA seniors Christina Bowen (21:27.34) and Katie Nuanes (21:28.92), who finished second and third, respectively, on the 6-kilometer course at the Penn State Invitational last weekend.
Smith's victory in the 6-kilometer "Cross Country Only" National Championships held in St. Louis, Mo., last weekend was 15 seconds slower.
But runners react to the level of competition they face, and their times often reflect the pace.
Smith , 20, is a front-runner with intense powers of concentration whose strategy is to wear down the pack.
She admits she doesn't have a great kick, so her strategy is to avoid a close finish.
"I know that at the end of the race I don't have a lot of faith in my kick, so I try to get it over with in the beginning," she said. "The plan is to push."
That's how Faerber sees it.
"I think she can take the sting out of the sprint by putting on a pretty good pace and just keeping it," said Faerber.
He said Smith is the best talent he's had in the program since Cindy Haney (1978-82), who became a member of the Canadian national team and a sub-2:40:00 marathoner.
"Cheryl is a very focused and determined young lady," said Faerber.
Smith began running cross country in the seventh grade in her hometown of Kirkwood, N.Y.
She finished 32nd for Conklin High School in New York's state Class B championships as a freshman. But Smith jumped into a different talent level her next three years, finishing second, and then fifth twice in a row.
When she enrolled at SUNY-Cortland, her development took a quantum leap under the guidance of noted sports physiologist, author and coach, Jack Daniels.
Daniels, a two-time Olympic medalist in the modern pentathlon, had an international reputation in middle and long-distance coaching. He had made SUNY-Cortland a Division III power.
"He'd been on the cover of Runner's World," said Smith, referring to a feature piece the popular runners' magazine did on Daniels.
"His whole philosophy and approach to racing made me very comfortable. The knowledge that he gave me made me become a more well-rounded runner. He didn't change me, he gave me more to work with."
After this weekend's trip to the San Luis Obispo Invitational, there'll be a two-week lull before the WAC championships in Tulsa, Okla.
On Nov. 11, Smith will compete in the NCAA West Regional in Fresno, Calif., hoping to qualify for the NCAA Finals on Nov. 20 in Ames, Iowa.
"The test will come when regionals rolls around," said Daniels.
At this time last year, Smith could feel the brisk winds of autumn in upstate New York nipping at her face when she ran.
"Now I don't even need warmups," she said .
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
