THE TIMES 1994 FALL ALL-COUNTY TEAMS : Pugmire Surprises Herself With Success as a Senior : Runner of the year: Track standout at Esperanza turns her attention to cross-country running, where her desire and effort pay off.

Something happened to Courtney Pugmire during the summer before her senior year. She turned into a distance runner.

Through a combination of fierce desire and an unmatched work ethic, she earned The Times Orange County runner of the year honors.

Known primarily as a middle-distance specialist for the Aztecs the past three years, Pugmire found previous success in cross-country (second-team all-county as a junior), but was more at home on the track.

The Southern Section Division II champion in the 800 and 1,600 meters last spring, Pugmire’s biggest accomplishment the previous fall was tying teammates Jenny Titus and Carrie Caulkins for the Empire League title.

“I’m really, really surprised at how well this has gone this year,” she said.

“I came into the season thinking if I could hit 17:59 for three miles just once, I’d be stoked.”

Well, sub-18 minute races became commonplace, as Pugmire outshined all her county rivals during the cross-country season.

Pugmire won her division at the Laguna Hills Invitational, then followed with a victory in a dual meet with Edison, which helped Esperanza hand the Chargers their first Sunset League loss in six seasons.

A third-place finish at the Orange County Championships (17:44) seemed to rekindle the fire in Pugmire, who then won the Sunset League finals.

At the section Division I finals, she ran 17:45 on the hilly course to beat runner-up Kim Mortensen of Thousand Oaks by 15 seconds.

Pugmire finished second to eventual national champion Julia Stamps of Santa Rosa in the State Division I race.

She earned a berth to the Foot Locker national cross-country championships, representing the West team, with a fourth-place finish at the regional meet.

Pugmire capped her season with a ninth-place finish at the national finals on Dec. 10 in San Diego, running 17:31.4.

She credits coaches, friends and teammates for her success.

“I pretty much wouldn’t be anywhere without all of their help.”