STATE CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS : Foothill Girls Will Be Making Their Moves Before Race Starts

The Foothill High School girls’ cross-country team is sure to attract a lot of attention when it lines up for the start of today’s state meet at Woodward Park in Fresno.

The Knights might be the only team boogieing on the starting line, having created their own pre-race dance.

“They are a bunch of live wires,” Foothill Coach Jerry Whitaker said. “They really give each other a lot of support, and they have a lot of fun, a lot of giggles, and there’s a lot of mutual caring there.”

Foothill, ranked fifth among state Division III schools, is a close-knit team, and junior Laura Amrofell is the glue that holds the group together.

“For the last couple of years, she has been the spirit of the team,” Whitaker said. “She has had a little more help this year, but she is the bond.”

Last Saturday in the Southern Section finals at Mt. San Antonio College--Foothill won the Division III-AA section championship--Amrofell demonstrated her leadership. In 16th place at the top of Reservoir Hill--600 yards from the finish--she ended up 50th after collapsing with 15 yards left and crawling the rest of the way. Amrofell, who was taking medication for a staph infection, apparently had a reaction to the medication. She also was suffering from dehydration.

“It’s really weird,” Amrofell said. “I can remember parts of the race from Reservoir Hill on, but I don’t remember crossing the finish line.

“I always tell myself I can’t walk on the Mt. SAC course, and I remember coming to the very end and saying to myself that I can’t walk, and my legs collapsed then.”

Amrofell’s brother, Greg, a Foothill senior, was videotaping the race and ran to the finish line to help his sister.

“The medics were trying to have her walk,” he said. “They were holding her up and dragging her. It was a scary sight.”

Amrofell, who has traded off being the team’s No. 1 runner with sophomore Allyson Myers, said it has been her responsibility to help the team’s younger runners.

“I think some of the younger girls the last couple of years have been kind of slow in getting involved,” she said. “I think sometimes they were taking it too easy and there’s a gray area there. What I did was pull them into the team.”

Myers, a transfer student, , said Amrofell helped her during the team’s first dual meet in September against Villa Park.

“I was feeling really good, and Laura was up ahead,” Myers said. “I caught up with her, and she told me to stay with her. She directed me the entire race, telling me to breathe easy and how to get up the hills.”

Myers sprinted past Amrofell at the finish, and Amrofell was the first to congratulate her.

“I was surprised because she’s been the leader all along, and she didn’t care that I beat her,” Myers said.

Amrofell says she puts the team first.

“They’re kind of like my sisters, and I’d do anything to help the team,” she said. “But cross-country is not all we do; we talk about dances and things. It’s like we’re sisters and best friends.

“That’s probably why we’re so successful.”

Myers is also responsible for Foothill’s success. She took over some of the leadership of the team when Amrofell, who was Foothill’s top runner at the beginning of the season, became ill.

“She got sick and fell back so I kind of took over the (leadership) role,” Myers said. “I felt like it was my duty. She’s really glad not to have to be the No. 1 or 2 girl because there’s so much pressure because people expect you to do well.”

Freshman Alicia Allison, who finished first for Foothill last Saturday, said Myers is one of the most spirited persons on the team.

“She’s always filled with energy and I’d like to take a little bit of that and spread it around,” Allison said. “In fact, it was kind of a shock when I joined the team this year because there was so much team spirit.”

Allison also adds a lot of energy to the team. Besides being Foothill’s No. 3 runner, she is a championship golfer. Last Sunday, the day after the section finals, she spent the entire day on the golf course.

With that much energy, Whitaker expects his team to do well today.

“We want to place in the top three--that’s realistic,” Whitaker said. “We’ve beaten San Marino (which is ranked second in the state), and they’ve beaten us. If we run to our potential, we’ll do well.”

Foothill also has experience behind it. Four of the girls--Linette McCauley, Mary Louise Ordway, Katrina Thurman and Amrofell--were on the team that placed sixth at the 1988 state meet.