TRACK AND FIELD NOTEBOOK: SAUGUS RUNNER FOLLOWS HEAD, NOT HEART.

Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer

Parents always tell children to do what they love. Shannon Murakami used her head instead.

She gave up the sport she loved for track and field.

The Saugus High distance runner grew up with a soccer ball by her foot. She started playing when she was 7, played year-round in club soccer and started on the frosh/soph team as a high school freshman.

Following her freshman year, Murakami decided to focus on that in which showed the most potential: running.

``Quitting soccer was one of the hardest things I've done so far in my lifetime,'' Murakami said. ``When I quit, it was devastating. But it's obviously paid off.''

Murakami is one of the area's surprises this season, with the region's top time in the 1,600 meters (4 minutes, 57.50 seconds). She will compete in her first major meet Saturday at the Arcadia Invitational.

Murakami didn't know what to expect in track after what she thought was a disastrous season last year.

She entered the track season very confident after finishing 10th in the state cross country finals in the fall. Despite high expectations, she failed to make it out of the Golden League finals.

``I was not as optimistic entering this season,'' Murakami said, ``because last year I watched myself push as hard as I could and not be able to get past 5:12.''

It wasn't until the Pasadena Games two weeks ago, when Murakami broke through with a victory in the 1,600 meters, that she realized her future was in track rather than cross country.

``The announcer began counting off the seconds as I ran around the track,'' Murakami said. ``When he hit 4:51, I thought, 'Oh my God, I have to go under 5 minutes.' The Pasadena Games really opened my eyes.''

Her improvement this track season can be attributed to her decision to give up soccer. Last season, she didn't train for distance purposes between cross country and track seasons because of soccer. This year, she trained nearly non-stop, taking a week off for finals and another during winter break.

Murakami's commitment impressed Saugus coach Christian Standley. It is rare for athletes to give up other sports for track; usually, it's track they give up for another sport.

``I don't think there's anything wrong with kids doing multiple sports at this level,'' Standley said. ``But we're usually the ones trying to sway kids away from basketball, football and soccer just for a little while.''

--Big dual meet: The Foothill League boys' and girls' team titles could be on the line today when Hart competes at Canyon. The Canyon girls, who have won nine consecutive league team titles, have a 47-meet league winning streak.

--Arcadia: In addition to Murakami, two other Santa Clarita athletes will compete in the elite night session Saturday at the Arcadia Invitational. Saugus' Alex Dekok will compete in the discus and shot put. Teammate Matt Swarbrick will be in the discus. Other area athletes will compete in the open meet during the day or run in the seeded races.

Matthew Kredell, [phone]

matthew.kredell(at)dailynews.com

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Saugus distance runner Shannon Murakami, who has run under 5 minutes in the 1,600 meters this season, will compete at the Arcadia Invitational.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer