DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

Shortly after winning the Division III title at the Orange County Cross Country Championships, Cait Williamson had another race. Williamson had to bolt to Sage Hill School.

As part of the Student Masters program at Sage she was due at the school at 2 p.m. to take potential students and their parents on a tour of the campus. Williamson, a senior, is a star distance runner for the Lightning, but she’s not all about cross country.

Of course, today, she is traveling across the country, yet that’s another example that her life is not consumed by her sport.

Her busy day on Oct. 18 could attest to that. She started her race at Irvine Regional Park in Orange at 10:15 a.m. She ran a smart, methodical race, staying with the pack in the early going and increasing her pace as the distance unfolded. She distanced herself from the pack after attacking a hill with the same tenacity she takes on all of her activities each day.

In the end, she won her first Orange County Championships race, setting a school record, as she finished in 18 minutes, 23 seconds. Afterward she needed to do some light running to cool down. It wasn’t until noon that she arrived back at home in Newport Beach. Just enough time to shower and eat. Then it was time to go play tour guide at Sage Hill.

Just another day in the life of Cait Williamson.

“It was kind of a crazy day,” she said.

One of the prospective students asked how she did at the meet because the person had read in the newspaper that Williamson would compete at the OC Championships. Williamson could smile and say, “I won.”

She also talked about Sage Hill, the small, private school that is special to her. It’s where she’s been the past three years. It’s also where she’s earned a cumulative 4.3 grade point average.

“I take the hardest classes you could imagine,” Williamson said.

The majority of her classes are Advanced Placement courses: AP physics, AP English and AP Biology. She’s also enrolled in multivariable calculus.

“I’m also taking a current issues class,” she said. “It’s one of the coolest classes I’ve taken. It’s really interesting.”

The classes don’t stop there for Williamson. She’s also in an advanced theater ensemble class. In addition to her duties with the Student Masters program, she’s also the assistant editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, the Bolt.

It’s amazing she has enough time to practice, let alone compete each week for the Lightning. When she has raced this season, she usually wins.

It happened Friday.

Williamson won the Division V sweepstakes race at the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational. She finished in 19:05. It was the first time she won a title at that meet.

She really didn’t have an important event after the race. She just needed to rest up for today.

This morning, she left to go across the country, to Providence, R.I. That’s where she’s visiting Brown University, where’s she’s being recruited for her academics, and for her running, too. She’s also interested in Columbia University.

She comes back home from Brown on Monday, to start yet another week, each day working on the goals she wants to achieve in her final year of high school.

Two check marks can go on her schedule next to the OC Championships and Mt. SAC meets. She also won the Brentwood Invitational for the third straight year this season.

On Nov. 4, she will go for her third straight individual title in the Academy League. Then, later in the month, she wants to repeat as CIF Southern Section Division V champion. She won her first title last year when she became the first runner in Sage Hill history to win a CIF Division V title.

Then it’s on to the state meet in Fresno, where she’s aiming for a second-place finish. The top spot is pretty much out of reach with Jordan Hasay always in front. The senior from Mission College Prep of San Luis Obispo is one of the top runners in the nation.

Williamson, who finished sixth at the state meet last year, believes she can do it because she is running with more confidence this year. It’s not that she lacked confidence last year. But with more races under her belt, she has come to believe she is capable of pushing her body farther, and quicker, than it has been before.

She’s ranked No. 3 in the state for Division V by dyestatcal.com.

“I’m definitely a much better runner this year, more experienced,” Williamson said. “I’m a lot better at pacing myself and not going fast in my first mile. That’s what I had trouble with before, taking it out too strong. This year I got the hang of pacing myself. I’m also just trying to enjoy my final year.”

Sage Hill Coach Nate Miller has seen Williamson progress each year. He said her junior year proved pivotal.

“Last year she made a big move,” Miller said. “She improved a lot from freshman to sophomore year. But she just had a string of good races last year. Kind of the end of last season is when she hit her rhythm. This year she came in with all that experience and hoping to do well. She knows what it takes to train hard. The experience really helped her come into her own and has carried her right through.”

Maybe even to Brown University.

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at [email protected].