CANYON GRADUATE GETS BACK ON TRACK.Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News Julie Harris Julie Harris (born December 2, 1925) is a distinguished American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards and three Emmy Awards, and was nominated for an Academy Award. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. is off to college again. The former Canyon High distance runner distance runner n. A runner who competes in distance races. is hoping the second time around will be better. Harris has signed a letter of intent to attend Colorado after returning home from a dismal freshman season at the University of Idaho The university was formed by the territorial legislature of Idaho on January 30, 1889, and opened its doors on October 3, 1892 with an initial class of 40 students. The first graduating class in 1896 contained two men and two women. in 1997-98. For the past year, Harris has attended Glendale College. ``I know what to expect now,'' Harris said. ``When you are 17 and sick of your parents, you just want to get out of the house. It didn't matter if it was in Idaho or wherever.'' At Colorado, Harris will be trying to resurrect a promising running career which has been sidetracked by injuries and illness the last three years. Running cross country at Glendale last fall, Harris was fourth in the state junior college championships, finishing as the top runner from Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . Harris, who also won the Western State Conference cross country title, was projected a state 3,000-meter favorite in track but was forced to redshirt after a nagging knee injury flared up. Despite taking the track season off, Harris received interest from Colorado, Arizona, USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. and UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. . At Colorado, Harris will have three seasons of track eligibility and two years of cross country remaining. She plans to redshirt cross country before returning to competition in track next spring. ``I am glad it worked out the way it did,'' Harris said. ``At first, I was nervous that if I redshirted, schools would think that I was always injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. . They were going off of what I ran in high school. All I needed to do was escape and redeem myself at Glendale.'' As a Canyon junior in 1995-96, Harris finished 10th in the state Division I cross country finals to lead the Cowboys to the team title. In track, Harris advanced to the Southern Section Masters Meet in the 3,200 meters, running 10 minutes, 46.48 seconds. Her senior year at Canyon was cut short by mononucleosis mononucleosis /mono·nu·cle·o·sis/ (-noo?kle-o´sis) excess of mononuclear leukocytes (monocytes) in the blood. chronic mononucleosis chronic fatigue syndrome. . At the University of Idaho, Harris was hobbled by a knee injury she suffered in the second day of practice. She had jumped into high-intensity speed-work and mileage after taking the entire summer off. Running in the slippery snow and ice, Harris also developed shin splints Shin Splints Definition Shin splints refer to the sharp pains that occur down the front of the lower leg. They are a common complaint, particularly among runners and other athletes. and tendinitis tendinitis or tendonitis Inflammation of a tendon sheath, due to irritation of this thin, filmy tissue by overuse of the tendons, which slide within them, or to bacterial infection. in her left calf and ankle. By track season, Harris, who had never been sidelined by injury in high school, injured a foot and was only able to run twice a week, mostly at a slow shuffle. Homesickness and lack of interaction with older teammates compounded the problem. ``This time, I made an effort to look at the team and training and where I would fit in,'' Harris said. ``When I went to Colorado, the team was so awesome. We had so many things in common.'' Harris was also impressed with Colorado coach Mark Wetmore, who shares many of the same training philosophies as Canyon coach Dave DeLong. The high altitude Conventionally, an altitude above 10,000 meters (33,000 feet). See also altitude. and the scenic running environment in Boulder as well as cousins in nearby Littleton, Colo., also weighed in her decision. ``I think Julie has learned her lesson,'' DeLong said. ``In terms of running, I don't think she can go wrong. If she really wants to get serious, now is the time to do it. I encouraged her to give it one last shot. Colorado is the place which will give her the best chance of doing well.'' Harris went on her recruiting trips to Arizona and Colorado with best friend and former Canyon teammate Lauren Fleshman. There were discussions about reuniting as teammates in college, but Fleshman, a senior who has committed to Stanford, knew Colorado was the perfect fit for Harris during their visit to Boulder. ``We both really thought how neat it would be to be teammates again, but each of us knows that as soon as you start school, you make so many friends that we would really just be teammates,'' Fleshman said. ``Wetmore is like DeLong tenfold tenfold Adjective 1. having ten times as many or as much 2. composed of ten parts Adverb by ten times as many or as much Adj. 1. and would be really helpful for her. Julie can thrive in the right conditions. She has personality and loves people. Having all those people to support her will be an inspiration.'' HARRIS FILE Trials and tribulations of former Canyon High distance runner Julie Harris, who has signed a letter of intent to attend Colorado: 1995-96 Led Canyon High to State Division I cross country title. 1996-97 Senior year at Canyon curtailed by mononucleosis. 1997-98 Hobbled by injury and illness at University of Idaho 1998-99 Finished fourth in state junior college cross country championships Redshirted track season because of knee injury CAPTION(S): Photo, Box PHOTO (Color) Former Canyon track standout Julie Harris, who ran at Glendale this season after an injury, will attend Colorado next year. Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News BOX: HARRIS FILE (See text) |
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