They Excel at Mixing Sports and Academics

It’s always good to remember how high school sports can bring out the best in teenagers, both on and off the field.

Here are three girls who understand that equal commitments to academics and athletics are helping them achieve a complete high school experience.

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Growing up, Emilie Still of Duarte wasn’t interested in playing sports.

“I hated P.E. and didn’t like to run,” she said. “But my dad was a runner and he got me into it. My friends and I decided to join the track team when I was a freshman.”

She soon discovered it fit her perfectly.

“After a good, hard run, you feel good,” she said. “I’m not running to just win first place in high school. I love it. It’s a good stress reliever.”

Still, a senior, has become the No. 1 cross-country runner for Duarte and won the Montview League’s 3,200-meter track title last season. She also has an impressive 4.2 grade-point average and has never received a grade other than A on a high school report card.

“She’s a great person,” Athletic Director Danny Cardona said. “She’s a go-getter. She does everything in extra. She’s a coach’s dream.”

Still is a lawyer-in-the-making. She participates in the nationwide mock trial program and received an award as outstanding defense attorney in Los Angeles County three years ago.

“I try to argue for the truth because that’s what should rule, and you do that by reasoning and proving the evidence,” she said. “And it’s also good to appeal to emotion if you can get the judge or jury to feel your side of the case.”

She has argued cases from the defense and prosecution sides and feels motivated to prepare herself to help others.

“I don’t want to be one of those Wall Street people,” she said. “My heart has always gone out to people who haven’t had as much as me.”

Whether running track or cross-country, or arguing cases, Still has figured out what’s important: “Whether you win or not, it’s the experience,” she said.

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Amber Oland of Santa Ana Foothill isn’t simply a standout water polo player. She’s considered the No. 1 goalie for her class in the nation. Add to that, she has a 4.0 GPA.

Asked how she pulled off these two tough feats, Oland said, “A lot of sleepless nights.”

She practices water polo every afternoon, then does her homework, and if that means studying late into the night, so be it.

“If it gets me to college, it’s worth it,” she said.

It is important to Oland to be good enough athletically to earn a college scholarship and to have the grades to pick any school she wants.

“Water polo is so much fun, and I really wanted to go to a good academic school,” she said. “Keeping up your academics is part of that dream.”

Her dream is about to come true. Oland is being recruited by Stanford, UCLA and USC.

Last summer, she traveled to Greece, Italy and Canada as a member of the U.S. junior national team. As much work as she has put into the pool and into her studies, she has no regrets.

“I don’t think I’ve had to sacrifice,” she said. “I love doing it.”

Her two older brothers, who set a high standard, provided motivation for academic excellence. Her parents had a standing offer: Whichever sibling had the highest GPA got to choose where to go for dinner, so the family competition was intense.

Oland would prefer less homework and more water polo, but she’s not complaining.

“I love it,” she said of her high school experience.

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If Becky Hernandez has any free time, it’s probably devoted to sleep because she rarely slows down, day or night.

She is a three-sport athlete at Covina who has started for three years on the volleyball team, three years on the soccer team and three years on the softball team.

She participates in clubs and student government and volunteered to join a group that traveled to an orphanage in Mexico to hand out toys and plant trees. She has a 3.0 GPA, and her volleyball coach, Pam Marquez, doesn’t know what she would do without her.

“Becky is a leader on the court and off,” Marquez said. “She helps my other girls with their homework. She’s driven in every aspect. She wants to be a setter, she wants to be a passer. She’s very concerned about being flawless, and other girls want to be at her level.”

Hernandez doesn’t complain about her seemingly nonstop schedule of school, sports and commitments.

“It’s tough,” she said. “I’m not going to lie. You go to bed late and wake up early. You just give it all you got. I love it. Without sports, I don’t know what I’d do.”

It’s all about commitment, desire and priorities. That’s why Hernandez, Still and Oland have been able to succeed academically and athletically, and there’s no reason others can’t do the same.

Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com