Davis Lass Laurynne Chetelat Makes Trip to Scotland for IAAF World XC Championships
Story and Photos by Joe Hartman
Five of the top ten runners in the Junior Mens’ and Womens’ races at the US Cross Country Championships were from the Pacific Association: Hasay, Fernandez, Brendan Gregg of Davis, CA, Jacque Taylor of Petaluma, CA, and one other runner who is making the trip to Scotland: Laurynne Chetelat, a senior at Davis (CA) High School. With Hasay staying in California, it was Chetelat who earned a world team berth by finishing seventh at nationals.
Chetelat is another multi-talented athlete who became committed to her running career even later than Fernandez. During the fall of her junior year, without doing any summer running and still playing club soccer at the time, she gave cross country a try. Within six weeks – in her third race ever – she made top ten at the seeded race at Stanford with a time of 18 flat. Even before that race, Coach Bill Gregg knew he had something special.
“It was the first or second week of practice and we were doing two-mile repeats out in the ag land”, says Coach Gregg. “And here’s Laurynne coming in only ten seconds behind Chelsea”, referring to Chelsea Reilly, the 2007 1600 meter SJS section champion, now at Cal. “I wondered ‘Is she cutting the course’, but there was no way.”
Chetelat – a dedicated, multi-lingual student who plans to study marine biology - went on to win the first of her two cross country Division 1 Sac-Joaquin Section titles that fall. In the spring, she proceeded to enjoy the same success on the oval highlighted by two memorable races at Hughes Stadium. Chetelat joined a short list of high school girls to ever win a race involving Jordan Hasay at the Sacramento Meet of Champions with a PR of 10:23 and a month later took second to Jordan at the California state meet finals. Laurynne finished the 2007 outdoor season with the 8th fastest 3200 meter time in the nation. She also added a 4:56.22 1600m PR for good measure.
Now a former soccer player, Chetelat was freed up to establish a solid summer base and it paid off with an even better season in 2007. She took third place at Stanford and Mt. SAC, and won the Division 1 state cross country title over Claire Collison of Crescenta Valley at Woodward Park in Fresno with the third fastest time of the day (17:18).
In January, after running competitively for only 17 months, she signed a scholarship to run for Stanford University. Gregg attributes her success to an abundance of natural gifts, the work ethic that she brought from other sports, and, says Gregg, “landing in the right place at the right time. Laurynne was surrounded with talented teammates.” Indeed, the Davis Blue Devils have won seven straight girls cross country section titles.
The 2008 Cross Country Championships were Laurynne’s third USA Track and Field race. Two previous efforts had given her some confidence and experience at Sunday’s six-kilometer distance to warrant high expectations in San Diego. Representing the Buffalo Chips of Sacramento in team competition, she posted a superb debut 6k time of 21:52 at the 2006 Club Nationals at Golden Gate Park. Two months later, she took 15th at the 2007 US XC meet in Boulder, eleven seconds behind teammate Mel Lawrence.
In San Diego, Chetelat was hoping for a top six finish. She was right with the leaders for the first five kilometers but had to hold on for seventh over the final kilometer for a 6k PR of 21:51.
In Scotland, the Junior Women’s national team will consist of collegians Alexandra Gits of Stanford, Marissa Treece of Notre Dame, Emily Schwitzer of Duke, Lauren Saylor of Washington, and prepsters Chetelat and Emily Reese of Georgia. No United States junior women’s team has ever medaled at worlds (although there have been several 4th place finishes since 1989). With Kenya, Ethiopia, and about a dozen other nations involved it won’t be any easier this time.
