Out of Step

University junior Allyson Marquand will miss another big meet this weekend. And unfortunately for her, that has become commonplace this season.

Marquand is one of those rare athletes who can excel at the highest level in two sports. She was The Times Orange County cross-country runner of the year in 1995 and ’96 and a top-flight soccer player who earned a tryout with the U.S. junior national teams last year.

Her proficiency in the sports, however, has led to a rocky road through the current school year.

Trying to juggle club soccer and running was partly the reason for Marquand’s dismissal from the University cross-country team in September.

Although Marquand, cross-country coaches Dan Wroblicky and Kerry Prins, girls’ soccer Coach Ingrid Bruder and the University administration have agreed not to discuss the details of the dismissal, Marquand wanted to clarify at least one point.

“I just want to stress that my dismissal didn’t have anything to do with drugs or alcohol,” said Marquand, who will skip Saturday’s prestigious L.A. Invitational indoor track and field meet to attend a state soccer tryout in Bakersfield for the Olympic Development Program. “It was a case that our coaches couldn’t support me in my efforts to balance the two sports.

“That’s their choice. I didn’t agree with it, but it’s not up to me.”

Although there is some palpable tension about the issue, both sides are more than willing to move on.

Wroblicky said Marquand is welcome to come back to the cross-country team next season, and added, “As far as I’m concerned, it’s a clean slate.”

Prins said Marquand told her she will come out for the track team this spring.

“I missed the team,” Marquand said. “Not only the competition, but the people. Until I got to Uni, I never knew running could be so fun.”

In her sophomore year, Marquand and the Trojans barely missed qualifying for the state cross-country championships as a team. Although Marquand qualified as an individual, she and her teammates were looking forward to bigger and better things in ’97.

“It was really hard for me because we had high expectations,” she said.

And it was painful for Marquand to watch her fellow competitors chase Southern Section and state titles.

Yucaipa’s Kimi Welsh won the ’97 Division I section title, finishing the hilly three-mile course at Mt. San Antonio College in 17 minutes 46 seconds. In ‘96, Marquand ran the same course in 17:51.

“It took awhile, but I thought I just can’t sit here and do nothing,” Marquand said. “There was only one thing that I could qualify for individually and that was nationals. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.”

So Marquand continued to train on her own and entered the West regional cross-country championships. Although she had never qualified for the Foot Locker national championships, this season she did.

Marquand was the only Orange County girl to qualify for the nationals, finishing seventh at the West regional race. She completed the 5,000-meter course at Woodward Park in Fresno in 18:06. The top eight runners qualified for the national championships in Orlando, Fla., where she finished 28th in a field of 32.

And she geared up for the high school soccer season too.

Although she plays sweeper, Marquand has scored four goals for the Trojans (10-4-3, 6-0 in league). University is in first place in the Pacific Coast League and currently ranked eighth in the county.

“She’s done a great job,” Bruder said. “She’s very vocal and she gets the girls to play as a unit. And her speed also plays a major role.

“And if she gets the space . . . there have been times when she’s dribbled the length of the field.”

Marquand plays soccer for Mission Viejo Club, whose coach, Abner Rogers, also sings her praises.

Rogers, who once played professionally in the second division in England, also coaches in the Olympic Development Program.

“Allyson definitely has a future in Division I [college] soccer,” Rogers said. “She’s a smart player, has a very good feeling for the game and she’s getting better tactically. She could play fullback or in the midfield.

“If there are some who think she’s too small. . . . Size is not the determinant. You can make up for it in other areas. You have to play tougher. She does that.”

Marquand showed her grit and determination as a sophomore and freshman, pushing through minor knee and ankle injuries as the cross-country season began to wind down.

And with a near year-round club soccer schedule, and her high school cross-country and soccer activity, it’s easy to see how Marquand could wear down physically.

Marquand admitted the time off from the cross-country meets this season has been easier on her body. She said she felt as healthy as ever heading into the high school soccer season.

But she’s not ready to give up either sport.

“If there’s a chance, I think I’d still like to do both sports in college,” Marquand said.