Kennedy's Alejandra Lopez among favorites for cross country state title

MT. ANGEL – Alejandra Lopez wore a cow costume at school Wednesday for Halloween and chaperoned her younger brothers on Treat-or-Treat night.

The Kennedy High School senior will be back in her familiar running gear Nov. 3 for the Class 3A/2A/1A girls state cross country meet at Lane Community College.

Lopez, who has back-to-back fifth-place finishes at the state meet, is among the favorites.

“It kind of adds to my nervousness,” she said.  “I want to make it a good race. I’m hoping for a top two (placing).”

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That is a realistic goal. No one in 2A or 1A has a time within 20 seconds of Lopez’s best mark this season of 18:47 from the Saxon Invitational at Bush Park.

Stephanie Finley from 3A Oregon Episcopal School, a former cross country state champion, posted a faster time than Lopez at the Saxon Invitational at Bush Park, a race that included Lopez.

Other athletes to watch include Lillian Fenner of Catlin Gabel, who matched Lopez’s PR time at the Saxon Invitational, and Jessica Neal from Central Linn.

A fast pace over the 3.1-mile course favors Lopez.

“She’s probably not going to out-kick any of those other girls (among the top contenders), but she’s really good at going out and setting a tough pace,” Kennedy coach Steve Ritchie said. “It’s just seeing if someone can stay with her.”

Lopez’s soft-spoken demeanor belies the fierce competitor within. She wants to win every time she laces up her running shoes.

Lopez misses training with former teammate Kaylin Cantu, a freshman on the Western Oregon women’s cross country team. Cantu placed third in last year’s state meet.

“I do miss her, but I’m really happy for her,” Lopez said. “She’s leading her team.”

This year Lopez leads the Kennedy girls cross country team and is among the premier small-school runners in the state. She placed second in the 1,500 and 3,000 at the 2A state track and field meet last spring after finishing fourth in both events the previous year.

Senior teammate Claire Seiler points to Lopez’s work ethic as one of the main reasons for her success.

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“She’s always worked hard in the past, and this year she’s added a job and she’s still gotten all of her workouts in,” Seiler said. “I think her determination and her attitude is just gonna help her out a ton.”

Lopez has been extremely busy this fall.

In addition to her cross country commitment, Lopez is an honors student taking advanced placement classes, and works on weekends at a restaurant.

She’s also volunteered for several projects in recent years, including mosaic design work at Coolidge McClaine Park in Silverton.

Ritchie calls Lopez “a wonderful kid” with a great sense of humor.

“If you ask her right before the race what is your goal, she’ll probably say something like ‘not to finish last’ or something silly,” Ritchie said. “I think that’s her way of handling pressure.”

Lopez, who has 10 siblings, plans to compete in college. She’s received interest from Southern Oregon University and Western Oregon.

When Lopez has free time, she enjoys watching "Bones," a crime drama television series that examined FBI case files utilizing forensic anthropology.

“I was thinking about going into a nursing program (in college), but I’m also interested in forensics so I started looking into being a medical examiner,” Lopez said.

For now, career goals will wait.

There’s the rest of her senior year to enjoy, which figures to include another season on the Kennedy swim team in the winter “because it helps my endurance,” followed by track.

But first there's a last hurrah in cross country.

"I wanna make this one count, especially because it's my last one," Lopez said.

Go to StatesmanJournal.com/Sports for results from the state cross country meet.

ghorowitz@StatesmanJournal.com or Twitter.com/ghorowitz

OSAA state cross country meet

When: Saturday

Where: Lane Community College, Eugene

Meet schedule: 10 a.m., 3A/2A/1A girls; 10:35 a.m., 2A/1A boys; 11:10 a.m., 3A boys; 11:45 a.m., 4A girls; 12:20 p.m., 4A boys; 1:45 p.m., 5A girls; 2:20 p.m., 5A boys; 2:55 p.m., 6A girls; 3:30 p.m., 6A boys.