[ DIVISION II REPORT ]
COURTESY OF BYUH
Brigham Young-Hawaii's Chelsea Smith is the cross country runner to beat.
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Smith having fun
as top dog
Everyone on the side of the road is running for a reason.
Some run for time to think, some run to get in shape.
Some, like Brigham Young-Hawaii cross country athlete Chelsea Smith, run for the best and most basic reason to do anything -- just for the fun of it.
Smith came from out of nowhere to take Hawaii Pacific's Nina Christensen's place as Hawaii's best, and it was never really a goal. The sophomore simply started running and doesn't plan to stop until the fun runs out.
"Running was always a punishment, but once you start it really becomes a reward," said Smith, who will be trying to earn a second trip to nationals tomorrow at Chino, Calif. "It's a good thing it is good for you or I'd really be in trouble."
At first glance, a skeptic's eye sees Smith as the greatest candidate for being in trouble. In just over a year, the 19-year-old has gone from being a chubby good-but-not-great high school runner to one of the most finely tuned athletes in NCAA Division II.
The thousands of athletes who have tried will tell you that you can't accomplish such a change without help, or everyone would be doing it. Smith admits that she has had help, but only in the form of a little education and a lot of road work. There are plenty of runners, even in Hawaii, who run themselves sick.
"That is one of the more annoying aspects of running," Smith said. "Some people are so competitive they will do anything to win."
Smith likes to win as much as anyone else, maybe because she is so new to the business. She never won a race in high school and walked on to the Seasiders' program with the hopes of finding someone to share her new hobby.
She has run since she was 12 years old, but never cared enough to excel at it and had nobody around her to see her potential except those in her immediate family. She was told to forget about joining BYU's team in Provo, Utah, because she would never be good enough.
Now she would be one of their top runners, but she would not even consider leaving the splendors of Hawaii for the greater competition a Division I school in Utah offers. Who knows, she may have burned herself out if she had taken the sport as seriously as those who are trying to use it to pay for college.
"In high school I only ran to be with my friends who ran," Smith said. "I wasn't very serious about it and cheated in workouts. For practice we would all run to my house to eat ice cream. I just didn't try very hard; I was more interested in other things."
But since Smith got hooked on running, there has been no stopping her. She walked on to Norman Kaluhiokalani's program and lost 30 pounds almost immediately. Not that the 5-foot-9, then-150-pounder had a weight problem. Though she does now.
Smith eats constantly, trying to keep weight on, and struggled to gain 10 pounds before the season in an attempt to fulfill people's expectations. Last year she was way down on the unspoken hierarchy of cross country runners. Now she is at the very top and expected to remain there.
"This is huge. I am so nervous I could really cry," Smith said about the regional. "There is a lot of pressure on me this year and it is not as much fun. But I have become pretty competitive. I don't care if I win by two minutes or two seconds. As long as I win."
Smith rose to the top when she surprised herself and everyone else last year at this time, running to a fourth-place finish in the regional and earning a spot at the national meet with Christensen. But none of it could have happened until she counted the 28-year-old wunderkind as her equal.
Christensen is Hawaii's reigning cross country legend, becoming an All-American twice before coming down with exercise-induced asthma. She is still Smith's greatest competition even though she has not beaten the youngster yet this year.
"Last year I didn't even know who she was, I only knew she was really super fast," Smith said. "Well, anyway, one time I was running next to her and heard someone yell, 'Go Nina' and thought, 'Oh my gosh. I'm not supposed to be able to run next to Nina,' and I actually slowed down. A lot of this is mental."
Smith has shaved a full minute off her time in each of the past three years and looks forward to hitting her peak. Since Smith became an elite runner, both of her parents and her younger sister, Meredith -- not to mention a boyfriend and others on the BYUH campus -- have picked up their paces considerably.
Smith already has a little practice at shutting it down. She is a relative unknown outside collegiate running circles because so many running events, including the Honolulu Marathon, that she would like to conquer, are scheduled for Sundays.
"Sunday is a day off. I get six days a week of running and it never even occurs to me to run," Smith said. "My relationship to God is very important to me. Running has given me so many things, but God is what my life is based on."
PacWest standings
|
Conf |
GB |
Overall |
Pct |
|
BYU-Hawaii |
9-0 |
-- |
18-2 |
.900
|
Hawaii Pacific |
6-3 |
3 |
15-5 |
.750
|
x-Chaminade |
4-5 |
5 |
10-12 |
.455
|
x-Hawaii-Hilo |
3-6 |
6 |
7-15 |
.318
|
x-Western N.M |
3-6 |
6 |
16-13 |
.552
|
x-Montana St.-Billings |
2-7 |
7 |
6-18 |
.250
|
x-eliminated from conference race
REGIONAL POLL
Top six teams advance to regional tournament
|
Overall |
Region
|
1. UC-San Diego |
20-4 |
18-4
|
2. Western Washington |
21-1 |
20-1
|
3. Cal State-San Bernardino |
20-3 |
15-3
|
4. BYU-Hawaii |
18-2 |
16-2
|
5. Cal State-Bakersfield |
14-7 |
12-6
|
6. Hawaii Pacific |
15-5 |
12-4
|
7. Cal State-Los Angeles |
17-7 |
11-5
|
8. Chaminade |
10-10 |
9-8
|
9. Alaska-Anchorage |
14-8 |
9-8
|
10. Cal Poly Pomona |
15-10 |
12-9 |
HITTING PERCENTAGE
Minimum .200/3.0 attacks per game
|
G |
K |
E |
Tot |
Pct
|
Chun Yi Lin, BYUH |
67 |
295 |
36 |
560 |
.463
|
Barbara Martin, HPU |
73 |
193 |
44 |
383 |
.389
|
Ashley Moeai, BYUH |
67 |
264 |
71 |
537 |
.359
|
Nadica Karleusa, HPU |
68 |
284 |
85 |
650 |
.306
|
Patti Hardimon, CU |
76 |
228 |
82 |
528 |
.277
|
Yu Chuan Weng, BYUH |
67 |
272 |
95 |
656 |
.270
|
Paula Nascimento, HPU |
57 |
103 |
33 |
262 |
.267
|
Flavia Brakling, HPU |
73 |
310 |
117 |
765 |
.252
|
Laree Green, WNMU |
96 |
207 |
70 |
588 |
.233
|
Christina Cooley, UHH |
54 |
100 |
41 |
276 |
.214 |
KILLS |
G |
K |
Avg.
|
Kahala Kabalis, Chaminade |
75 |
352 |
4.69
|
Chun Yi Lin, BYUH |
67 |
295 |
4.40
|
Sara Pilgreen, Hilo |
84 |
360 |
4.29
|
Flavia Brakling, HPU |
73 |
310 |
4.25
|
Nadica Karleusa, HPU |
68 |
284 |
4.18
|
Yu Chuan Weng, BYUH |
67 |
272 |
4.06
|
Ashley Moeai, BYUH |
67 |
264 |
3.94
|
Olivia Munro, MSUB |
83 |
327 |
3.94
|
Valsai Sepulona, Chaminade |
76 |
297 |
3.91
|
Silvia Oliveira, BYUH |
40 |
142 |
3.55 |
ASSISTS |
G |
A |
Avg.
|
Kaala Lo, BYUH |
67 |
926 |
13.82
|
Vera Oliveira, HPU |
66 |
778 |
11.79
|
Michelle Norman, Chaminade |
76 |
881 |
11.59
|
Megan Denman, Hilo |
67 |
664 |
9.91
|
Kari Jones, MSUB |
66 |
635 |
9.62
|
Malia Kauhi, WNMU |
86 |
743 |
8.64
|
Amy Goodnight, WNMU |
56 |
430 |
7.68
|
Brittany Baum, Hilo |
53 |
355 |
6.70 |
SERVICE ACES |
G |
No. |
Avg.
|
Kaala Lo, BYUH |
67 |
39 |
0.58
|
Paula Nascimento, HPU |
57 |
29 |
0.51
|
Kahala Kabalis, Chaminade |
75 |
38 |
0.51
|
Vera Oliveira, HPU |
66 |
28 |
0.42
|
Yu Chuan Weng, BYUH |
67 |
28 |
0.42
|
Shannon Hillier, Hilo |
58 |
24 |
0.41
|
Nadica Karleusa, HPU |
68 |
28 |
0.41
|
Patti Hardimon, Chaminade |
76 |
31 |
0.41
|
Liz Narkon, WNMU |
103 |
39 |
0.38
|
Flavia Brakling, HPU |
73 |
27 |
0.37 |
BLOCKS |
G |
S |
A |
Tot. |
Avg.
|
Chun Yi Lin, BYUH |
67 |
27 |
50 |
77.0 |
1.15
|
Barbara Martin, HPU |
73 |
14 |
69 |
83.0 |
1.14
|
Laree Green, WNMU |
96 |
19 |
90 |
109.0 |
1.14
|
Katrina Dahlgren, MSUB |
77 |
19 |
66 |
85.0 |
1.10
|
S.Bruchhauser, WNMU |
102 |
12 |
97 |
109.0 |
1.07
|
Cortney Metzler, MSUB |
81 |
10 |
71 |
81.0 |
1.00
|
Ashley Moeai, BYUH |
67 |
14 |
47 |
61.0 |
0.91
|
Nadica Karleusa, HPU |
68 |
12 |
49 |
61.0 |
0.90
|
Cori Sutter, Hilo |
80 |
6 |
63 |
69.0 |
0.86
|
Sandra Beal, MSUB |
58 |
2 |
39 |
41.0 |
0.71 |
DIGS |
G |
No. |
Avg.
|
Kahealani Silva, Hilo |
82 |
350 |
4.27
|
Sara Pilgreen, Hilo |
84 |
330 |
3.93
|
Alberta Letoa, MSUB |
83 |
301 |
3.63
|
Frederica Tonon, BYUH |
40 |
142 |
3.55
|
Kalae Araujo, Chaminade |
75 |
264 |
3.52
|
Silvia Oliveira, BYUH |
40 |
134 |
3.35
|
Olivia Munro, MSUB |
83 |
273 |
3.29
|
Yu Chuan Weng, BYUH |
67 |
217 |
3.24
|
Kim Tano, WNMU |
107 |
326 |
3.05
|
Kaala Lo, BYUH |
67 |
198 |
2.96 |