Laura Olvera (Whittier HS
- UC Irvine)

Impressive Improvement by Southern Californian
By Doug Speck

   
photos UC Irvine & Doug Speck
Laura Olvera UC Irvine - (rt) as a prep at Whittier HS we caught her
after a Mt. Sac Invite Race win

"Olvera, Olvera, Olvera," that name rang a bell as I looked through some of the collegiate cross-country results this past fall, with the name of the UC Irvine runner bringing to mind a pretty fair prepster at Whittier High School a few years back racing in the red and white of the Cardinals.  But when her name showed up with 2006 performances individually such as third place, among many of the nation's best, in the NCAA Division I regional this past November, on the way to the NCAA Championships, a viewer of the sport really had to take notice.  What had gotten into this girl!  From a 21st place finish in the Southern Section Division II Championships as a senior in 2003 at 18:35 on the Mt. SAC course, and a 10:28.14 3000m (that's 3000, not 3200m) the following spring in track, the greater San Gabriel Valley area star had taken her fine start in the sport to the national elite level as a collegian! 

After red-shirting her first year as a collegian, Laura had placed second in the Big West Conference individually in 2005 behind teammate Amber Steen during the fall cross country season, with a runner-up effort again this year behind Lauren Christman of UCSB before her super third place finish in the NCAA Division I Regional meet at Blue Lake Park in Fairview, Oregon on November 11th.  She followed up with participation in the NCAA Divison I Championships, placing 83rd in that very, very challenging event. 

Laura took some time out to answer some questions for us.  Hers was a prep career that many in the State have equalled in quality, but when one jumps to the head of the class at the next very competitive collegiate level it is worth taking great care to listen to the path she took.  While something like a red-shirt season is probably unimaginable to a current high-schooler, it appears to have been a most signfiicant step in her development from the information below.

She was only a sophomore in cross-country eligibility this past fall, and we look forward to more continued good running from this UC Irvine star who will be joined by Sara Mickelson and others next year and beyond!

1) Briefly trace your individual successes this past fall for the UC
Irvine team?

--I won our home meet in September, placed second in Big West conference, placed third in the region, and finished 83rd at nationals.

2) How did you end up at UC Irvine from Whittier HS?

--I remember being interested in the school the end of my freshman year.  At that same time I had been looking into other UC schools like Davis and Santa Barbara as well but I did not warm up to their programs as well as I did with Irvine. When it came time to make a decision it was between Irvine and a private school up north that was NAIA but in the
end I realized I was not ready to move that far away from home.

3) It appears you took a red-shirt year at UC Irvine. What is the background to that and how did it go to take some time away from competitive running for the team?

--Well the reason why Vince and I decided that I should red shirt my first year was because I just was not ready to handle the work ahead of me. I could have ran that year but I was not prepared mentally or physically to run competitively. Looking back on that year I am really glad I took that time away because it really put things in focus for me and made me
realize what I wanted to accomplish in the future. In alot of ways it made me grow up.

4) How much heavier was your running workload this past fall compared to the running you did in high school, and if it is quite a bit more intense, how did the adjustment to a heavier workload go for you?

--The workload I have now in comparision to what I was doing in high school is different in that I am now running a lot more miles than I was before. Whereas my longest run in high school for a workout was 60 min it now is 90-95 min. As far as intensity, the workouts are a bit more intense but they are appropriate for where my fitness level is now. Adjusting to it however was difficult for me my first year which also contributed to the decision Vince and I made to red shirt.

5) What are the couple biggest changes in running between high school and the college level? (explain them briefly)--

--The major changes that I have noticed is the team. The people I run with now enjoy running and want to run. I remember in high school a lot of the people on the team did not really want to be there and did not really care if their times improved or not. The people that I am surrounded by now are enthusiastic about the sport and having people around me like that i
think has really influenced me and my performance in a positive way.

Another big difference from high school is the structure of the workouts. It helped me understand why certain workouts are done during certain periods of the season. Before I just ran what I was suppose to run, I did not know why I was doing it except that it would make me faster. Now I feel better knowing what it is doing for my body and how I can adjust it to work better for me.

6) What are some of your goals in future seasons based off the success you had this past Fall?

--Well next year in Cross Country I want to win conference and regionals and place in the top 15 at nationals.

7) What are a couple bits of advice could you offer to high-schoolers who hope to continue their running at the collegiate level as far as commitment goes and maybe fitting into a challenging academic load (I assume they only have the challenging type at UCI!!)?

--I think the best advice I could give regarding both running as well as academics is do not be afraid. Do not be afraid of runners (both on and off your team) that are seconds even minutes faster than you. Respect them but understand and believe that you have the potential to be as great as they are if not better if you really want to and accept that same level of commitment that they have. Second, do not be afraid of school and the work load ahead of you. As a collegiate student athlete you have many resources that you can go to if you need help with keeping in check with your grades.

8) What has it been like to zoom past many in your competitions who may have run quite a bit faster than you did as a high-schooler, or is it something you take the time to think about?

--Well usually I do not realize it till after the race is done. Sometimes I do not even believe it then because I can remember in high school being in complete awe of them and never even thinking that I could even come near to touching them. And yes, it is something I think about sometimes. It is what I think about when I feel like I ca not take anymore during a
workout. I think about it because it makes me realize how far I have come, how much I have learned, how hard I have worked and sacrificed, but more importantly how much I still have left.