27th Foot Locker
cross country championships

the national individual championship
for US high school cross country runners.

National Finals
Dec 10, 2005 Balboa Park, San Diego CA

West is Best!

Tania Fischer stuck like glue to Vickie Cook all the way to Disney World and UCLA

When I was a junior in high school - that was a long time ago, 1982 - I ran for a small school in the valley called Chaminade High School. Since I lived in Germany, my freshman and sophomore year, I really didn't know the high school running scene. I luckily had a friend that knew what to do. I would follow my best friend, Vickie Cook (Alemeny High, CA) and just do what ever she did. We were inseparable. We would go to races and goof around and braid each other's hair.

Vickie told me about this race where we could win a trip to Orlando Disney World. I thought she was pulling my leg. I thought there was no way that they would allow high school kids to go on a trip by themselves and go to the Disney World. What a concept! Vickie and I drove up to Fresno together for the Kinney (Footlocker) Western Regional Meet. We sang songs and drove her father crazy. It was hard for us to stay still and sit in the car for hours but we finally made it and checked into a hotel.

We got up the next day and you could feel the excitement in the air. There were so many girls and so many fast girls from all over the Western states. Vickie told me that we needed to run our best. We needed to be in the top seven and that we had to stick together. There was no way that I was going to go to Orlando and she wasn't or vice versa. I agreed. We had made a pact and said we would make the team together.

The gun went off and it was slippery and muddy. I lost Vickie for a split second but soon saw her tall lanky self up in the front with the leaders. I told myself I had to get up to the front, I was missing my chance and I needed to stick to her like glue. We made it through the course, finishing fourth and fifth. We are on the team!! We were so happy!! We celebrated all the way home. Vickie told me how we were going to run against the other four parts of the US. We were on the WEST team and would be competing for the title. I responded, “Well of course, West is Best!" So that became our slogan.

When we met the other West girls at the airport, we told them that we had to be the “Best” and win. We made signs and got our other team members involved.

We flew to Orlando and got to go to Disney World. It was amazing! Vickie and I ran around so much - not exactly great for pre meet - but we wanted to go to every ride and see everything.

On race day we pulled out the signs that we had made and posted them all over the course. We raced as well as we could on tired legs and placed 14th and 15 th overall. We had the time of our

lives, I don't even know if the West team won that year, but it didn't matter. We had the best time ever.

(Editor’s Note: Tania stuck like glue to Vickie when she made the decision to follow Vickie to UCLA where she earned All American honors along with her pal.)