Amber Harper (5th, West)

Amber Smith finishes third at the 2001 Foot Locker Midwest Regional. (Photos by Brian J. Myers @PhotoRun, click to enlarge)

Hometown: Orem, UT
High School: Orem High School
Year of Graduation: 2003

Amber Harper is the second member of her family to become a Foot Locker National Finalist; her brother, Golden, finished 10th at Nationals in 1999. Her fifth-place finish was a massive improvement from last year when she finished a disappointing 67th. She won her second straight Utah State Cross Country Championship earlier this fall. The Harper family has now collected five individual Utah state championships in cross country. Brother Golden won in 1998 and 1999, and mom Cheryl won in 1979, as Alta's Cheryl Howlett.

Other Notes:
...Amber's mom, Cheryl, won the all-comers race at the Foot Locker West Regional, running 19:13 and finishing 2:13 ahead of the next woman...

In the News:
(11/3/01)
Utahns fare well at Regional (12/2/01)
Wins USATF Utah Race of Champions | 4A runners take team honors at Provo meet (11/3/01)
Outdistancing the field | Is "disappointed" with win (10/18/01)
Wins Utah 4A State Meet [photo] (10/17/01)
Utah state meet preview (10/16/01)
Elite Utah harriers square off at Orem meet (9/30/01)
Finishes third at Great American XC Festival | Utah runners impressive (9/21/01)
Wins Murray XC Invitational | Tigers sweep team titles (9/15/01)
Past champs do well (9/11/01)
Harper, Orem win Provo Invitational (9/9/01)
Harper wins race by more than a minute (9/2/01)
Wins USATF Junior National Championship (12/9/00)
Wins Utah 5A State Meet | Surprise winner in 5A | Big surprises at state meet (10/18/00)