Girls Track Co-Athlete of the Year: Alex Dunne

With three seasons of memorable victories and accomplishments under her belt, San Clemente senior Alex Dunne entered her final year looking to add to her legacy as one of the county’s most decorated runners.

She could have felt the pressure of following in the footsteps of former county distance stars such as Annie St. Geme and Christine Babcock, but Dunne used the 2009 season to forge her own enduring identity as a disciplined runner dedicated to achieving greatness with each performance.

For her accomplishments throughout the season, Dunne has been selected the Register’s 2009 Girls Track and Field Co-Athlete of the Year.

“I’m honored and excited to know that people recognize what I’ve done as a runner,” Dunne said.

Dunne began her season with convincing wins at Irvine and on her home track at the Triton Invitational.

She then took her running to the international level, competing in the International Association Athletic Federation World Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan, where she was the third-best American finisher in the junior girls division.

“Racing at the international level gave me insight about the intensity and the amount of talent in the sport,” recalled Dunne.

Coming off that performance, Dunne was ready to compete on the biggest regular-season stage of the season. Under the bright lights of the Arcadia Invitational, she was pitted against the state’s most accomplished distance runner, Mission College Prep senior Jordan Hasay.

The duel never happened, though, because Hasay came down with an illness the day of the meet. Dunne used the platform anyway to run the best 3,200-meter race of her career, winning in a time of 10:16.83, the fourth-best time ever posted by a county runner.

“I was a little disappointed because had Jordan been in the race, I felt that I could have run a little faster,” she said. “That was probably the best I felt in all my races this season.” 

Dunne finished the regular season with a wins in the 3,200 at the Orange County Championships, in the 1,600 and 3,200 at the South Coast League finals, and she entered the CIF portion of the season hungry to finish the year in winning fashion.

But her quest was hampered by a foot injury that had begun bothering her late in the season. She managed to win the CIF-SS Division I 3,200 title, and Dunne was well ahead of the field during the final lap of the 3,200 at the CIF-SS Masters meet when the foot pain forced her to pull up. She managed to finish in fifth place and advance to the State Track and Field Finals.

She rehabbed her foot back to 100 percent and looked forward to a chance to race against Hasay. She went out on record pace for the first three laps of the race at Buchanan High in Clovis and was within striking distance of Hasay before pain in her right hamstring began to slow her.

After two more grueling laps, the pain became too much bear. Dunne crumpled to the side of the track midway through the sixth lap, ending her last chance at the state title that had eluded her for four years.

“Something pulled in my right hamstring and I thought if I keep running, maybe I could loosen it up,” recalled Dunne. “I ran about 40 meters and it just got worse, tensed up, and I knew that I was done.”

The Stanford-bound senior believes her best days are ahead of her and feels as though she should be remembered for putting forth maximum effort with each step on the track.

 “I have mixed feelings about my season because it didn’t turn out quite the way I wanted it to,” Dunne said. “I gave it my all and hopefully people will see that and appreciate it in the long run.”

Contact the writer: jeichelberger@ocregister.com