Daily Pilot Athlete of the Month: Liz Huipe, Speedy Eagle

Tony Altobelli

For Estancia High girls cross country standout Liz Huipe, she is

still working hard and going through numerous pairs of running shoes

because of peer pressure.

Following her running stint at TeWinkle Junior High, Huipe was about

to quit running when she was coaxed into trying out for Estancia by a

friend of hers.

“I was all set to stop running and move on to something else,” Huipe

said. “My friend, Maria, told me I should try out for the freshman team

with her and I said I would. She’s now at another school, but we’re both

still running.”

And running she is. The senior holds the girls cross country record

for Estancia when she posted a fifth-place time of 17:57 last year at the

Pacific Coast League Finals, the first Eagles’ girl to run under 18

minutes.

From there, Huipe qualified for the CIF state cross country meet for

the second year in a row and finished ninth.

“With Liz, the quality is there,” Coach Charlie Appell said. “We

haven’t run a ton of races this year just yet, so quantity isn’t there.

But she’s a great runner and I expect her to be among the top runners in

the PCL.”

That says a lot considering the competition in the PCL. With Corona

del Mar and University always among the top teams in the CIF Southern

Section, Huipe is quietly keeping up with the pack.

“I see her qualifying for CIF again and doing real well there,” Appell

said.

At the Huntington Beach Invitational last week, Huipe took first place

in the six-team Division II race with a 20:12.

That win followed her first-place mark in the Eagles’ dual meet with

Northwood (19:10).

“The race against Northwood was much better for me than the

invitational,” the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week said. “Some of the

course in Huntington Beach was run on thick, wet grass and it slowed me

down. I felt better against Northwood.”

The key to Huipe’s success on the track is finding the right time to

make her move.

“My goal at the beginning is to make as little work as possible at the

end by keeping up early,” Huipe said. “I’ll just try to keep up with the

pack in the first mile or so. I’ll let other people take the lead before

I try to turn it on with about a mile to go.”

A track and field standout, Huipe was third in the PCL in the

1,600-meter run and fourth in the 3,200.

“I just try to go out there and do the best I can,” Huipe said. “It

doesn’t matter what race it is, I try to go out and try to win. When I’m

running, I’m pretty competitive.”

Huipe uses a goal-oriented approach for her success. “Coach Appell

taught me that if I have a goal, that I should shoot for it,” she said.

“I try not to worry about who I’m running against. I just go for my

goals.”