ANTONIAN RUNNER BETH MELIA
NAME: Beth Melia
AGE: 16
SCHOOL: Antonian
SPORT/POSITION: Cross Country runner
SIBLINGS: 1 brother, Tom; 2 sisters, Kellie and Caitlin
FAVORITE FOOD: Chocolate
LAST MOVIE SEEN: The Others
PLANS FOR COLLEGE: Not sure, probably go into early education or
medical school
WHEN I HAVE A FREE NIGHT, I LIKE TO GO TO: out with friends, girls
nights out, Putt Putt or Bowling
FAVORITE SINGERS, GROUPS: Whatever is on the radio
IF I COULD TAKE A CELEBRITY OUT ON A DATE, THAT CELEBRITY WOULD BE:
Ben Affleck
Picture your average high school girl. Think about all of things that
are important to them. The list might include a boyfriend, her car,
clothes, the latest makeup tips, and for the studious ones, maybe
schoolwork.
Running long distances probably isn't on that list.
Antonian junior cross-country runner Beth Melia is far from your
stereotypical high school student, however. While most of her
classmates are still lying in bed asleep, Beth is up bright and early
every morning at 6 AM. While others are standing in front of the
mirror applying makeup, Beth is in the middle of a long run that would
make your average U.S. Marine cringe. And last weekend, while most
high schoolers were out at the movies or at the mall, Beth was taking
third place at the Baylor Invitational in Waco.
"Beth is a very important part of our program," says her coach, Devlyn
Lovell, who is widely considered the dean of cross-country coaches in
the area. "It's hard to run at 6 in the morning. You have to have
people like her out there, a smile on her face, ready to go and help
everybody out. She's really matured as a runner. Once we convinced her
to run, she came in and had a great summer of training. She's one of
the leaders of our team that carries us."
Lovell , as would be expected, has played a very important role in
Beth's running career thus far. "Coach Lovell has been very helpful,"
says Beth. "I probably would not even be running if not for him."
As the Antonian cross-country squad gears up for it's final meet
before the state championship, Beth is leading the way. "If it was
between me winning the individual race and the team placing first at
state, I'd rather have the team win. We're a really close team, and we
all want to help each other out."
And as for the future: "I'd like to run cross-country in college,
maybe. But it all depends on the situation," she says. But right now,
Beth, her coach and her teammates are focused on one thing.
"If we run the way we can, we should win state this year."
Good luck to Beth Melia, Coach Lovell and the rest of the Antonian
cross-country squad the rest of the year.