Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, Travis Beardslee: Elite company

Barry Faulkner

As Travis Beardslee can attest, no cross country champion is an

island. Even one who spends the summer training on Catalina.

The Corona del Mar High junior said he often creates an imaginary rival

during solo summer training runs in and around Avalon. But if left only

to his imagination and undeniably resolute work ethic, Beardslee admits

keeping pace with the prep elite would be as delusional as his

apparitional adversary.

So, when faced with high-caliber competition, Beardslee relishes the

challenge of in-the-flesh foils.

“I find it easier to race in invitationals, because there are more people

to help pull you along,” said Beardslee, who finished fourth in the

Division IV race at the prestigious Stanford Invitational Saturday to

earn Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week recognition.

Beardslee, who cruised to victory in the Sea Kings’ Pacific Coast League

dual meet triumph over Estancia Sept. 30, is also appreciative of fellow

Sea King junior Josh Yelsey.

“Having Josh to run with every day is great,” Beardslee said. “We really

push each other.”

Beardslee has yet to begin pushing his potential this season, according

to Coach Bill Sumner.

“Travis was impressive at Stanford and he’s kind of on right now,” Sumner

said. “But he’s just at the start of what he can do. The engine is built

and now we’re tuning it. But it’s not fine-tuned yet. I don’t think it’s

an exaggeration for him to break 14:50 this year. It wouldn’t surprise me

at all.”

Beardslee, following Sumner’s directive, went out quickly at Stanford,

distancing himself from the crowded midpack and nipping the leaders’

heels.

“We wanted to gamble and send both Travis and Josh out hard at Stanford,”

Sumner said. “They both went with the leaders and hung onto them for

about two miles. And that was a pretty good group to be with.”

Beardslee finished in 16:19, 15 seconds and four places ahead of Yelsey.

But the duo’s strong performance helped the Sea Kings finish fourth as a

team.

“I think we surprised a few people who didn’t expect us to be that far

up,” Beardslee said. “It told us where we were in relation to other teams

in the CIF (Southern Section) and the state.”

It also elevated Beardslee, ninth at Sea View League Finals as a

sophomore, into a group of recognizable postseason contenders.

“I want to turn heads this year at (the section and state finals),”

Beardslee said. “I’ve been there before, but I haven’t been anyone who

was recognized or feared. But, being a junior, this is one of the bigger

years for me in running.”

Sumner said Beardslee’s rise is partly attributed to the coach’s

increasing familiarity with his training needs.

“We’ve both gotten a little smarter about figuring out how to bring him

around this year,” said Sumner, who believes Beardslee’s atypically high

summer mileage requires a different approach than those runners who train

at CdM heading into the fall.

“Travis is extremely disciplined and he does a lot of work in the

summer,” Sumner said. “When he joins the team again, we have to be

careful not to overload him.”

Beardslee said he averages 60-65 miles a week on Catalina. He estimates a

typical high school runner is logging closer to 50 per week during the

summer months.

“I usually come back a little stronger than the rest of the team and that

helps me later in the season,” said Beardslee, who admits maintaining his

drive during the summer demands mental toughness.

“It requires focus and discipline,” he said. “Sometimes I pretend there

is someone running with me. You have to teach yourself not to give in to

the pain.”

Beardslee said that inner drive translates to other activities and his

strong academic record (a 4.2 GPA last spring) indicates he’s always up

to a challenge.

“I’d say he’s one of our top three hardest workers,” Sumner said.