Girls running: Allen picks Stanford

Barry Faulkner

CORONA DEL MAR - Corona del Mar High senior running standout Julie

Allen, a four-time CIF State cross country finalist who won individual

CIF Southern Section titles in cross country, as well as track and field,

will continue her athletic and academic careers at Stanford University,

she announced Monday.

Allen, who won the CIF Division III section cross country crown last

fall and went on to finish second at CIF State Finals in Fresno, said she

chose the Cardinal over UCLA, Dartmouth, Yale and Division III Principia.

She will run cross country and compete in track and field in Palo Alto.

“Stanford just suited me,” she said. “It suited me like a glove. I

liked every aspect about it. The people are more like me, as far as goals

and the ways they go about accomplishing those goals.”

Allen, who transferred to CdM from Fountain Valley High before her

junior track and field season, has achieved virtually all the goals a

prep runner could in Southern California.

After winning the Pacific Coast League individual championship last

fall, breaking a 10-year-old course record at Irvine Regional Park and

leading CdM to the league cross country title, she capped her season by

finishing third at the prestigious Kinney Invitational.

She then had a storybook track campaign, winning league titles in the

1,600 meters, the 3,200 and finishing second in the 800. She repeated

those finishes at the section finals, scoring 28 points to help CdM

repeat as CIF Division III champion. She was fifth at the Southern

Section Masters Meet in the 3,200, but finished third in the Division III

state final in that event last spring.

She said she is undecided on a major, but is happy to have the

recruiting process behind her.

“It’s nice to know for sure where I’m going to be,” she said.