Amber Smith (3rd, Midwest)

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

Hometown: Ishpeming, MI
High School: Westwood High School
Year of Graduation: 2004

Amber Smith put in a strong finish to take third at the 2001 Foot Locker Midwest Regional. “I just kind of went out with the top 10 people and started to think if I kept up with them I could qualify,” she told The Mining Journal. “I kept going and got into seventh place. Then in the last three quarters of a mile I passed people and ended up in third.” And now Smith is headed to Florida to compete against the nation's best in the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships -- a race that she first heard about on the internet.

Other Notes:
...Smith lives in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and therefore does not get to race some of the state's best talent on a regular basis...

In the News:
Amber Smith keeps on running (12/3/01)
Wins 2001 MHSAA Upper Peninsula XC Division II Finals [article] 10/21/01
Smith wins mid-Peninsula conference championship (10/12/01)
Finishes 3rd at Spartan Invitational (9/21/01)
Wins 2001 Calumet Invitational [article - scroll down] (9/14/01)
Favorites rule Strom XC Invitational (9/9/01)
Smith takes third in 5k road race (8/26/01)
Smith wins 800, 1,600 and 3,200 at MHSAA Division II Track & Field Championships (6/2/01)