Some elite runners come up through strong youth programs, some come in from other competitive sports, and some just come out of nowhere.  Samantha Ortega never thought of herself as an athlete until a PE teacher noticed her talent and pointed her toward the cross country program as a freshman.  She joined late and didn’t run a race until the season was nearly over.  But by fall of her sophomore year, she had emerged as a front runner for the powerful Saugus High School Cross Country team, leading the Centurians to a 7th consecutive state title with her individual 2nd place finish in the Division 2 race.  On the track she has impressive PRs of 5:05 and 10:30, and competed in the state championships in the 3200 this spring.  I caught up with Samantha this summer to get her thoughts on the experience of moving into the elite ranks and the coming cross country season.

Scot Joerger (SJ): Tell us about how you got involved in cross country and track as a freshman. 

Samantha Ortega (SO): I got involved through my PE teacher, freshman year. He suggested that I join track and cross country based on my mileage in PE class.

SJ: Did you have any background in competitive sports prior to high school?

SO: I never really competed in any other sports. I was the average teenager that only really ran in PE class for a good grade.  [My PE teacher] encouraged me, and gave me the idea to try cross country and because of that, I found something that I love, and now, couldn't live without doing. I didn’t even know what cross country was until my teacher told me about it.

SJ: At what point did you realize that you could be successful at this sport?

SO: I realized that I could be successful in this sport after my first varsity league race. I had no idea what I was doing out there, or what to expect, aside from knowing it was generally going to be a tough race. However, after that race, that is when I realized that I could be successful.

SJ: How was the transition from rookie runner to varsity contributor then to front runner at Saugus?  How did your coaches bring you along?

SO: The transition from rookie to varsity was quite long and nowhere near easy. The training was way more intense and required longer, harder practices every day. It was a huge transition, but it was totally worth every drop of sweat, and every single minute it took. Becoming the front runner wasn't easy either, and I didn't even think I would end up as Saugus' front runner for last season. I had to push myself even further to get the right workouts in. The way my coaches brought me along helped a lot, especially when they would take time to explain to me how things would work since I was as new as a runner could get.

SJ: Who has had the most influence your running career to this point?

SO: Many people have had an influence on my career, but by far the biggest influence came from my team (coaches and teammates). All of my teammates and my coach (Paragas) inspired me to keep pushing forward and supported me on this new path that I had begun to lean towards. Paragas worked me hard to reach my full potential last season, and continues to do so today.

SJ: Obviously Saugus has a lot of history as a top program.  From your perspective, what makes your team special and why do you think you've had so much success?

SO: From my perspective, our 2012 team was very close. However, what made us special is that we really weren't as talented as other times in the past. We didnt have a Karis Frankian or a Jenay Jauregui to help us out in the race, but with an insane amount of hard work and dedication, we made it through and brought home another win at state championships in November.

SJ: Now that we're at mid-summer, can you tell us what your summer training has been like?  Are you where you'd hoped to be at this point?

SO: Summer training has obviously been long since Saugus is known to be a school that trains a lot. At this point I don't hold any expectations for training until the season really starts.

SJ: The Saugus girls won the team title in Division 2 at the State Championships in cross country last fall.  Tell me about that experience. What did you learn most from it?

SO: The experience was amazing, no doubt about that. The race was a tough one, but it was a great race, the course is definitely a good one and I can't wait to return to the course for another round.

SJ: What specific meets are you most looking forward to?

SO: Specifically, I am looking forward to meets like Mt. Sac invitational, Clovis invitational, CIF, and of course, State Championships.

SJ: What are your goals for this season, individually and for the team?

SO: My individual goals for this season include, improving my time at the Mt. Sac course, aim for that individual state title, and at the top of that list, is to return to Nike Cross Nationals in hopes of improving tremendously from last year. Team wise, I want for the Saugus team to win our 8th state title of course, but I'd also like for us to win a seventh CIF-SS title, and much like my individual goal for Nike Cross Nationals, I would like the Saugus team to return and place higher as a team.

SJ: What do you like to do outside of track & cross country?

SO: There isn't much I like to do outside of cross country/ track, but I do like to hang out with my team mates, watch movies, and I mean watch a ton of movies! Also I just like to spend time with family.

QUICK STATS

Nickname: Sam

Performance you are most proud of: 2012 XC state championships (2^nd place in 17:33)

Last book I read: Things Fall Apart

What I'd like to study in college: Nursing/Sports Med.

Favorite food: Pasta

Favorite movie: Lady and the Tramp

Pet Peeve: Frizzy or loose hair (<--- I know, it's weird)