Daily Pilot High School Athlete of the Week:

When people talk to Melanie Powers they hear the same cheery voice. They see the same infectious smile. But they’d be foolish to think this is the same girl as last year competing on the Corona del Mar High girls’ track and field team.

This is a different Powers. She’s always had the talent, but there was a time, CdM Coach Bill Sumner would say she lacked a killer instinct. Now that’s not the case.

There’s something different about Powers, indeed. The results are on display on the track, yet they are also shown on a different course, as she has landed a full-ride scholarship to compete in cross country and track at Wake Forest.

Just another star runner on Sumner’s watch of a stellar program you might say, but even then there’s more to Powers.

“I’ve watched her mature,” Sumner said of Powers. “She looks the same, talks the same, but when she gets in the race, she’s just different. We’ve got a special athlete right there.”

Sumner believes her best years are ahead of her and is confident the CdM senior will accomplish great success against NCAA Division I competition.

It can be said, she has come a long way.

During her sophomore year, Fridays were reserved as a “ditch day,” for Powers, who missed her friends from Hacienda Heights and visited them. She didn’t attend most Friday practices. It was hard to see any potential in Powers then.

“My sophomore year, I was pretty bad,” Powers admits. “I was transitioning. We had just moved to Newport Beach. I had missed my friends from Hacienda Heights.

“I was just running because I liked it back then. I didn’t know you had to be there all the time. I was just in LaLa Land. Thank God I got out of it.”

She improved her attendance in her junior year, but even then there were some lapses. And, during meets, she just didn’t have the same mental strength she possesses now.

“Last year she would get sick with stomach aches and just get really nervous,” Sumner said. “But I don’t think she has missed a single practice this season.”

However, Powers still deals with anxiety before races. The Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week was definitely nervous before Saturday’s Orange County Championships. The thought of what took place last year at the meet practically frightened her.

Powers crashed to the ground, her forehead hitting first, and she scraped her knees after she was tripped late in the 1,600-meter race of last year’s meet.

“People were going to have to catch up to her to spike her this time,” Sumner said.

Powers began the race quickly, bolting to the front of the pack early. Last year, she finished fourth. This year, Powers finished second in 5 minutes, 1.94 seconds, a personal best.

She won the 3,200 in 10:46.39 and before the day was done, her name was called again.

Powers was named Distance Athlete of the Meet.

“I’m pushing myself very hard to be very determined and focused this year,” Powers said. “My sophomore year, I didn’t care. My junior year, everything was in place, but I need more mental strength. I could never grasp it. But I’ve been working on this. I still don’t feel I’m at the point where I should be. I’m happy that [Sumner is] saying that about me. All my hard work is paying off. I’m excited.”