Allen, as usual, leads the pack

Steve Virgen

At the finish line, Julie Allen appears to be everyone’s friend.

But, during the race, she looks more like the worst enemy.

The scene was all too familiar during the cross country and track

and field seasons of 2001-02. Allen, the Corona del Mar High

distance-running sensation, seemed to have always set the pace. And,

in most cases, she would win. Then, at the end, she would

congratulate every runner, sometimes showing the affection most would

associate with family members.

Her display of sportsmanship in every contest highlighted each

winning moment she earned. It was the exclamation point to each of

her performances, the bonus to each race she applied her signature

to. Throughout her races, she was a pure example of distance running,

showing balance, patience and aggressiveness.

Allen’s school year started with an individual Pacific Coast

League cross country title and ends with the Daily Pilot’s

Newport-Mesa Girls Athlete of the Year honor. When she won her PCL

title, she broke a 10-year-old course record (16:53) at Irvine Regional Park.

Allen, who’s bound for Stanford, also led the Sea Kings to a PCL

team title and then won the CIF Southern Section Division III

individual cross country crown. Then, the PCL’s Girls Athlete of the

Year went on to finish second in the state, which featured her fourth

appearance at the meet. She capped her season by finishing third at

the prestigious Kinney Invitational.

“She could be the best athlete to come through CdM,” Sea Kings

Coach Bill Sumner said of Allen after her track and field season.

Allen gave credence to Sumner’s statement with the following

achievements: For the second straight year, Allen won PCL titles in

the 1,600 meters and the 3,200, and, for good measure, added another

championship in the 800. She then broke school records in the 1,600

and 3,200.

When she won her second straight CIF Division III 3,200 title, she

completed a school-record 10:33.95, which was the best time in the

Southern Section (all divisions) May 18 at Cerritos College.

Allen also captured the CIF Division III title in the 1,600 and

finished second at the Masters Meet the next week, when she broke the

school record with a personal-best 4:57.57.

The CdM standout made her fourth CIF State Track and Field Finals

appearance.

In her senior season, she decided to solely concentrate on the

3,200 and earned a sixth-place medal.

In the track and field season, Allen also broke an Orange County

Championships record in the 3,200, finishing in 10:47.72 and besting

the previous record of 10:48.24 by Newport Harbor’s Amber Steen, last

year’s Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa Girls Athlete of the Year honoree.