Saratoga News

Sports

Saratoga's Follmar meets President Bush

By Mike Barnhart

Alicia Follmar rapidly reached elite status while running for Saratoga High School. Racking up cross country championships in the fall and track titles in the spring, she became a headliner at the local, regional and state levels.

Now, in her first year at Stanford University, Follmar is no longer the top dog, just a member of the pack. But she is still a champion.

In November, she was one of eight Stanford runners who teamed to claim the university's second NCAA women's cross country championship in three seasons. Follmar and her teammates were rewarded last week with a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit President George W. Bush at the White House.

Stanford joined 10 other NCAA championship teams for National Student-Athlete Day on April 6. The teams were given a tour of several historic rooms, before meeting President Bush on the White House South Lawn.

"The team had a great season, and we are excited that the president is honoring this great Stanford team," Stanford head coach Peter Tegen said prior to the trip.

Considering Stanford's roster of 21 talented runners, Follmar was just thrilled to make the trip to Terre Haute, Ind., for the NCAA championship meet last fall, and hence the jaunt to the White House. The only true freshman to make the NCAA trip for Stanford, Follmar "had fun being the alternate," she recalled. "You could tell who all of the other alternates were. We were all running around alongside the course and cheering on teammates."

"My most memorable college moment so far was winning nationals," explained Follmar, noting that the squad waited together about 15 minutes for the final results to be announced.

Follmar posted two top-five finishes during her first college cross country season. She placed fourth in a 4,000-meter race at the Stanford Invitational in September, then took fifth a few weeks later in a 6,000-meter race at a pre-NCAA meet in Terre Haute.

But the race that likely punched her ticket to the national championship meet was the Pacific-10 meet Oct. 29 in Tucson, Ariz. Out of 86 competitors, Follmar covered the 6,000 meters in 22:11 to place 28th. More importantly, of the 10 Stanford runners, she was eighth.

Back from the White House trip, Follmar has her mind back on track, when it's not on her current classroom load of 16 units, that is. Follmar, a biology major, got used to college life in the fall quarter by taking 17 units. "Writing in the West was my most fun class and chemistry was the hardest," she said.

Speaking of fun, at the recent Stanford Invitational she did something she had not done since last spring.

"I actually won my heat," Follmar laughed, referring to a B Section, 800-meter contest. "Actually, my time was second to the other heat winner, but it was fun to win a race."

As at Saratoga, the middle distance runner's primary events are the four-lappers. She ran 4:46.92 to take third in an indoor mile at the University of Washington in late February, and she will compete in her share of 1,500 and 1,600 events.

Follmar, whose first California State championship came in the 1,600 as a high school sophomore, went on to capture another 1,600 title as a junior and a state cross country crown as well. A lot of hard work went into those successes. Now, she has to work hard just to compete with her teammates.

"It's nice not to have to lead the workouts or lead the races," she summed. "It's a much different feeling."