DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:Buckley’s kick key in CdM’s state title run

Shelby Buckley’s parents laughed when they told her. Corona del Mar High cross country Coach Bill Sumner smiled at the motivational possibilities when he told Buckley.

Buckley herself quickly put it out of her mind. The Sea Kings junior doesn’t have a need for external motivation.

So when a popular cross country web site left her out of the top 10 in its predictions for the Division III state final, a race Buckley had finished first and fifth in the past two years, respectively, she paid it little heed because in cross country once the race is over the top 10 is clear.

“My mom and I were just cracking up,” Buckley said. “Coach said ‘Did you see they didn’t even have you in the top 10? What do think about that?’ I said ‘Well, I don’t know.’ ”

That’s because Buckley, like Sumner and her parents, already knew where she ranked and they had nearly three years of finishes at the top to back it up. But that didn’t stop Sumner from taking the potential motivational tidbit and running with it.

“Coach did come on the hill when there was a mile left and yelled ‘They left you out of the top 10,’ ” Buckley said.

Buckley didn’t need any extra motivation. She had a plan. She hung around Katy Daly of St. Ignatius, then with 300 meters remaining the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week took over to finish second in 18 minutes, 18 seconds.

“I saw my brother on my left,” Buckley recalled. “He said ‘You can do it Shelb.’ ”

Earlier in her career, Buckley would not have ran the race that way. It used to be “Go out as fast as you can and try not to die.” Now she runs a more focused, strategy driven race.

“I think Shelby came in with a lot of talent and too much experience,” Sumner said. “We had to retrain her. That’s not something I’m used to. I usually have people come in here with no experience. But you can’t win big races the old ways. She liked to run out of control. These other girls will catch you running that way. You need to turn the race into your kind of race. Shelby lights it up at the end.”

That is one of Buckley’s biggest strengths, her ability to find a faster speed than her opponent at the tail end of a race.

“I’ve got a kick,” Buckley said. “It’s good for me to know if I have her close I can win it at the end.”

That kick is part of the reason why the Sea Kings were able to win the Division III Southern Section title. Buckley came into the final having posted the second fastest time in the division preliminaries, but also with the flu.

Buckley was hovering around 24th when Sumner informed her that a teammate had dropped out and her finish would be crucial.

Buckley moved up 10 spots and Corona del Mar ended up winning by seven.

“I didn’t want to say I wasn’t going to be at my best before the race because sometimes once you say it, it will happen,” Buckley said.

“I didn’t want to upset the team. I didn’t want to put a big burden on everybody else. At the top of Switchback Hill, about a mile and a quarter in I couldn’t breathe. I just wanted to finish. At the top of Reservoir [Hill], Coach told me a teammate dropped out, ‘You have to go.’ I told myself, ‘OK Shelby, you have to get over this. You have to do this for your team.’ ”

The section final was one of the rare times Buckley did not finish right behind teammate Sarah Cummings.

But next year it will Buckley, who is expected to take the lead.

“We’re already preparing for next year,” Sumner said. “I look at it like a battlefield. What will it look like next year. I’m looking at how we can go one, two again. I’m trying to get Shelby to think like that. Get a good picture of what it’s going to be like here next year.”

Buckley is ready for the friendly competition expected between fellow junior Allison Damon and her for the top spot on the cross country team.

“We’re really good friends,” Buckley said. “It’s going to be fun.”

Buckley and her Corona del Mar teammates will compete in the Nike Team Nationals today at Portland Meadows Raceway in Portland, Ore. against the top cross country teams in the nation.