Daily Pilot High School Athlete of the Week, Amber Steen: Tunnel

vision

Barry Faulkner

On the eve of the biggest victory in her cross country career,

Amber Steen was shaken, but not stirred.

Roused briefly from sleep in the wee hours by an earthquake which rattled

her Newport Beach home, the Newport Harbor High junior made a

semiconscious decision to not let even Mother Nature deter her from her

finish-line focus.

“When (the temblor recorded at 7.1 on the Richter scale) happened, I woke

up for a couple minutes,” Steen recalled. “But I fell right back asleep.”

It was a decision Steen later credited with preserving the energy

necessary to outrun a sterling field and win the girls sweepstakes race

at the prestigious Orange County Championships Saturday at Irvine Park in

Orange.

“My plan was to stick with the leaders (Santa Margarita’s Lori Mann and

Mater Dei’s Jenny Sears) as long as I could and I was fortunate to have

as much energy as I did the last 800 meters,” the Daily Pilot Athlete of

the Week said. “I’d been sleeping well -- even with the earthquake -- and

eating well and I felt good that day.”

A two-time Sea View League 1,600-meter champion, who also won the league

3,200 title and the CIF Masters Meet 1,600 last spring, Steen has given

Sailors girls cross country and track and field coach Eric Tweit a good

feeling ever since she stepped on campus.

“We’ve had girls train as hard as Amber does, but I don’t think I’ve ever

had a runner who really took the mental approach, was as goal oriented

and who wanted to be the best,” said Tweit, closing in on two decades at

the school. “And there’s no telling how good she could end up being.

She’s ready to be either a state champion or in the top three in the

state.”

Steen, who has had more success in track than cross country, said

Saturday’s victory was a big step.

“Confidence wise, it’s a real boost,” she said. “I feel like I’m exactly

where I should be at this point in the season, but I still don’t feel

like I’ve done my best.”

Steen’s ability to always give her best, in training as well as races, is

one reason she is so revered by her coaches and teammates. And her

interest in the success of her teammates is almost as unusual as her

talent.

“My two goals (Saturday) were to run under 18 minutes (accomplished at

17:44, a personal record) and to do well for my team,” Steen said. “I

love my team so much. I’m so overwhelmed at how well (teammates) do, it

carries over into my own racing.”

Steen displays support for her teammates by quickly concentrating her

energy on cheering after she hits the finish line.

“I want to see the rest of the race, see how much each of our runners are

improving and how well we’re doing as a team,” she said. “My team is

always excited for me, but I’m more excited for them.”

Steen said the inspiration of her teammates is one of several motivating

factors she employs.

“There are expectations for me to do well, but I always try to just run

my own race, try my hardest and be as positive as possible. If I didn’t

have the teammates I have, it wouldn’t be as much fun.”

Already possessing the talent and the drive, Tweit believes Steen needs

only to add experience to fulfill her potential.

“The No. 1 thing for her, now, is to find the best way for her to race,”

Tweit said. “A lot of that is feel. Some people have it and others have

to acquire it. I think she’s still getting used to things and feeling

comfortable and confident. She really needed (Saturday’s) victory in a

real competitive, intense situation against a lot of elite runners.”