Canchola to Skip Track for Family

Nordhoff High sophomore Elaine Canchola, one of the top distance runners in the state, will not run track this season because of family obligations.

Canchola won Division III titles last fall in the State and Southern Section cross-country championships and placed fourth in the Foot Locker West Regional. She won’t run track because her parents need her to care for her younger siblings in the afternoon.

“She just has a lot of family responsibilities,” Nordhoff Coach Ken Reeves said.

Canchola said she needs to watch her brothers James, 13, and Jerry, 7, and sister Christina, 1, after school, but added that she welcomes a break from competition.

“I think that’s what I’ve been needing,” she said. “I just feel like I’ve been tired and maybe it’s best for me to just kick back and relax for a little bit.”

Reeves, who guided Nordhoff to the Division III boys’ and girls’ State cross-country titles, was disappointed to lose a runner of Canchola’s ability but sympathized with her situation.

“You always want to see her run,” Reeves said. “But you also know that there are other things in life.”

Canchola said she will continue to train and plans to run cross-country and track during her junior and senior years.

“I’m needed [at home] right now,” she said. “But I don’t plan on giving up. I’m not going to quit running. I’m too good at it.”

Canchola burst upon the high school distance-running scene as a freshman by winning the Division III title in the 1994 Southern Section championships in her first season of cross-country.

She placed second in the State Division III championships and followed that with a stunning runner-up finish behind Santa Rosa’s Julia Stamps in the Foot Locker West Regional.

Her freshman track season ended in disappointment, however, as she placed third in the 3,200 meters and seventh in the 1,600 in the Southern Section Division III championships. She fell early in the 3,200.