AVC'S EARLE HAS PASSION FOR RUNNING RETURN.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Daily News Staff Writer

Somewhere along the way through high school, Shannon Earle lost the desire to be an excellent cross country runner.

But Earle is in college now. And she has it back.

Earle's career has bounced up and down like a pogo stick, bottoming out during her junior and senior years at Highland High School. But following graduation and her enrollment at Antelope Valley College, cross country is again her passion.

The AVC sophomore is favored to win her second straight Foothill Conference championship today when the Marauders host the event at the Rancho Vista course in Palmdale.

The course is not unlike the terrain covered by Earle as a Highland sophomore five years ago.

``We used to drive around the desert looking for little hills that I could run on and train,'' Earle said of herself and then-personal coach John Johnston, who became the Bulldogs' head girls coach during Earle's final two high school seasons.

Johnston met Earle through a mutual acquaintance, his brother Tom (who went to the same church as Earle). The two worked exclusively together during her sophomore year, which was the most productive of her career.

They would meet on campus beginning at 5 a.m. and search out places to run before the sun would make its first appearance to the east.

``There are a lot of hills right near school and we usually found some good places to work out,'' Johnston said. ``She was very motivated and a hard worker. She put in a lot of miles running every day.''

It was a demanding schedule that fall. Earle would attend Highland practices under then head coach Cory Abouaf. At dusk she would meet with Johnston for more training.

``I had more time with Johnny when he was my personal coach. He taught me how to stay focused,'' said Earle, who admits the season with Johnston was her best, reaching the second round of the Southern Section postseason.

The next year, Johnston replaced Abouaf (now the Bulldogs boys' coach) and had an entire team to coach, leaving Earle as just another runner.

``I just didn't do as well,'' Earle said. ``Johnny just had to focus more on the team and I did less training. I stopped trying to learn.''

Johnston admits the lack of extra practice affected Earle, but wouldn't label her last two years as disappointing.

``She was still an All-Golden League runner after I took over. Her focus was definitely different,'' Johnston said. ``Shannon has always had a world of talent.''

That said, AVC coach Mark Covert was hopeful but unsure of Earle's desire to continue with her career when she arrived for the 1996 fall semester.

``When she first came here I didn't know if she was going to run or not. I knew how good she could be because she used to work out with us during the summer,'' Covert said. ``I thought if she could put the work in she could become a very good distance runner.''

With the help of Covert, who spent extra time with her, Earle dedicated herself again.

``(Covert's and Johnston's) teaching styles are completely different. Johnny used to work with me mostly on running up and down hills. And Covert likes to spread it out with longer runs,'' Earle said. ``(Covert) boosted my confidence.''

``I'm sure Shannon was somewhat frustrated when she got here. She hadn't run much as a (high school) senior and I just kept telling her, `I just want to see progress,' '' Covert said.

At the 1996 Foothill Conference meet, she showed her coach an abundance of progress.

Earle figured to be no better than the fourth best runner at the San Bernardino course. In fact, the freshman wasn't even the best runner on her own team.

Sophomore teammate Melanie Bedortha fell off the pace early, however, and Earle pulled away from two Citrus runners at the end to help the Marauders win the team championship and earn a trip to the State Championships.

``(Bedortha) was clearly our No. 1 runner. . . . Shannon was our most talented. It came down to whether or not she put it all together on race day,'' Covert said.