Buckley embraces team concept

athlete of weekThe former Rosary standout joined a stacked Corona del Mar squad and helped put the team over the top.Shelby Buckley said she feels like she still has a better time in her this season. Perhaps if she stops spending parts of her races urging on teammates, she’ll reach that time.

Buckley took fifth place overall in the CIF State Division III championship race last Saturday with a time of 18:20, helping Corona del Mar claim its fourth girls’ state title.

During the race, she took some time encouraging teammate Sarah Cummings -- usually Corona del Mar’s No. 2 runner behind dynamo Annie St. Geme. She was surprised to have caught up with Cummings, who was slowed by illness. Instead of immediately passing her, Buckley urged her on.

“I said, ‘Sarah, you’re not tired, let’s go,’” Buckley said. “She’s always faster than me.”

“Annie was leading and Sarah was fourth or fifth,” Corona del Mar Coach Bill Sumner said. “Shelby catches Sarah and starts spurring her on. I happened to be standing there. I had to yell at Shelby to get going. She was so busy helping her teammate, she almost fouled up her own race.”

Two weeks earlier in the CIF Southern Section Division III preliminaries, teammate Allison Damon was having trouble with a hill on the Mount San Antonio College course. Again, Buckley was there to help.

“You can do this,” she yelled. “You can do it.”

CdM boasted the top five finishers in that Division III heat, recording a team time of 1:31:53 -- the second best mark for any girls’ team on the Mount SAC course and the best girls’ team time of the day. Damon finished third with a time of 18:56. Buckley followed at 19:01.

Buckley won the individual Division III state title last year representing Rosary before enrolling at CdM last summer when her family moved to Newport Coast.

The addition of Buckley to an already stacked team made CdM unbeatable.

Buckley has adjusted from being the leader of the pack at Rosary to being one of several accomplished runners with CdM. She has improved steadily since the beginning of the season.

“When she came here, she was a little out of shape. She needed training and conditioning -- both mentally and physically,” Sumner said. “She’s gotten a little better each week. This sport takes hard work and believing. Once I got her convinced, we were back to the state championship.”

The Sea Kings, named No. 1 in the nation earlier in the season in the Nike/Footlocker Super 25 high school poll, is competing in the Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Ore. It’ll be Buckley’s last chance to record a faster time, but if she does it, it’ll be within the team concept she has embraced.

“I’d like to run a faster time, but the focus is on our team,” she said.

Shelby Buckley

Born: April 16, 1990

Hometown: Newport Beach

Height: 5-foot-1 1/2

Weight: 93 pounds

Sport: Cross country

Position: long-distance runner

Coach: Bill Sumner

Favorite food: Yogurt and granola

Favorite movie: “Dumb and Dumber”

Favorite athletic moment: “Winning state last year as an individual at Rosary and winning state this year as a team at Corona del Mar.”

Week in review: Buckley took fifth place overall at the CIF State Division III Cross Country Championships with a time of 18:20, helping Corona del Mar win the team title.

Daily Pilot20051203CS1LK3EHNo Caption20051203iqwhuxknMARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)