All-Area Girls’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year: Melnyk went the distance for Crescenta Valley

When asked of her goals throughout the season, Crescenta Valley High senior Megan Melnyk simply didn’t rattle off the same objectives.

Oh sure, like any track and field runner, Melnyk placed a special emphasis on winning and setting personal records.

Yet, the 17-year-old also exercised a deep respect for her competition, a profound gratitude for her gifts and a strong desire to squeeze every ounce of energy out of her 5-foot-3 frame.

“As a racer, I always want to give everything I have and push my body to the max,” Melnyk said on an overcast summer morning. “I always feel so disappointed when I don’t feel like that. That means I didn’t give that last little bit of energy that I could have and let everyone down.”

It was a sense of teamwork bolstered by individual successes, such as a pair of Pacific League championships and advancement to the CIF Southern Section Division I finals, which led to Melnyk being selected as the 2015 All-Area Girls’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year, as voted by the sportswriters of the Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader and La Cañada Valley Sun.

Melnyk is the first Falcon to earn the award since shot putter Melanie Samvalian in 2010.

“Maybe the biggest thing Megan offered was range, which is extremely important,” Crescenta Valley Coach Mark Evans said. “She could run anywhere from the 400 meter to the 3,200 and even on the 4x400 relay. That’s huge because we could throw her in a race to break up a group or if we needed points. We knew we could depend on her.”

From league meet to league meet, Melnyk chipped in between 10 and 20 points while running in three or more events for the Pacific League runner-up Falcons.

“I think Megan looked forward to those challenges and helping out any way she could,” said Falcons senior Haley Witzeman, who missed most of the track season dealing with a pinched nerve. “She could have just run her main two races, but she always did more.”

After each event, it was common to find Melnyk in two positions: congratulating the opposition for a well-run race and laid out on the side of the track exhausted.

“I feel like in this sport we know how many sacrifices are required and how much effort and time you have to give,” Melnyk said. “You can’t look at someone else who’s running fast without having respect for what they’re doing and feeling encouragement toward them.”

Individually, Melnyk’s top event was the 800-meter run.

One of Melnyk’s finest efforts came at the Azusa Pacific Distance Meet of Champions on March 28.

On that day, the La Crescenta resident finished third in the 800 in a time of 2 minutes, 13.57 seconds, which eclipsed her junior year best time of 2:13.62.

“My favorite race this year was the APU Invite,” Melnyk said. “I have such good memories from that race every single year. This year, when I got my 800 time, it gave me the confidence I needed.”

Perhaps it’s fair to say that up until this season, Melnyk’s greatest individual performance on the track came during her sophomore year, when the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo-bound athlete finished fourth at the CIF Southern Section Division I finals at Mt. San Antonio College in a personal-record time of 2:13.34, which qualified her to the Masters Meet.

Since that race, Melnyk had fallen short multiple times in surpassing her own unreachable mark.

“I’ve come real close, but I wasn’t able to get that PR and it was frustrating,” she said.

Some of that frustration faded with victories, the first coming when Melnyk won the 1,600 (5:14.61) at the Palos Verdes Invitational on March 7.

As the season progressed, Melnyk posted notable results, including coming agonizingly close to breaking her PR when she finished fourth in the 800 in 2:13.39 on the second day of the Mt. SAC Invitational on April 18. The previous afternoon, Melnyk placed 11th in the one mile in a time of 5:21.04.

Melnyk was also 11th during the invitational 800 (2:15.10) at the Arcadia Invitational on April 11.

Arguably, Melnyk shined brightest under the lights of Dick Salter Stadium on May 8 at the Pacific League finals at Arcadia.

Melnyk won two titles with the first coming in the 1,600.

With defending champion Candela Fernandez of Burbank injured, Melnyk entered the event a favorite.

“I have so much respect for Candela, she’s an amazing runner and I expect she’s going to have a huge senior year,” Melnyk said. “Without her there, I felt like I had to honor her and win it. I had to take advantage and win.”

Melnyk did not waste an opportunity and clinched the event in a time of 5:03.06.

“I knew of Megan when I started as a freshman and she’s always been a person of class,” Fernandez said. “She respects every runner out there. I’m happy that she won. She’s more than deserving.”

Later in the evening, Melnyk won title No. 2 in the 800 as she breezed to a time of 2:17.16.

For good measure, Melnyk joined up with Courtney Iannello, Naila Ortiz and Emmie Walker to place second in the 1,600-meter relay race in 4:09.90.

Melnyk punched her ticket to the following week’s Division I prelims at Trabuco Hills High, where she enjoyed another wonderful effort.

Melnyk began by hitting a personal record in the 1,600 with an area-best mark of 5:01.79, which was good for seventh and advanced her to the Division I finals.

Despite that success, the pièce de résistance came later when Melnyk broke through with a new personal-best 800 time of 2:13.25, which was good for sixth and also advanced her to the Division I finals.

“I wondered sometimes if I was ever going to beat my PR,” Melnyk said. “I did it, not by much, but I did it.”

The following week, Melnyk opted not to compete in the 1,600 at the Division I finals at Cerritos College in order to focus solely on the 800.

On May 23, Melnyk’s storied carrier ended when she placed eighth in the 800 at 2:14.04, which was good for 17th overall, but outside of the top 12 needed to advance to Masters.

For Melnyk, the result marked the first time in three years she did not qualify to the Masters Meet.

Yet, the aspiring biomedical engineering major wasn’t the least bit disappointed.

“I gave everything I had and I was honored to have run with so many wonderful girls,” Melnyk said. “The cool thing about the 800 is that it goes by so fast. You’re running and you’re working so hard, especially if there’s a pack. You’re working hard to stay with the pack.

“You’re tired, but it goes by so fast that you don’t realize how tired you were until after it ends. That’s one of the cool things about racing. It’s about giving every little last bit of energy and walking away proud, win or lose.”

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Andrew J. Campa, andrew.campa@latimes.com

Twitter: @campadresports