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Hometown:
Redwood Valley, CA Without taking any other factors into account, California's Amber Trotter would have been considered one of the favorites at this year's Foot Locker Cross Country Championships by virtue of her 7th place finish in 2000. However, if you consider what she's already accomplished this season, Trotter has to be considered the biggest favorite of the 2001 Championships, male or female. While Trotter's mind-blowing performances this season indicate that she has an edge over her competition, the "favorite" roll has been a tough burden to bear for many competitors in recent Foot Locker history. Sara Bei (2000), Victoria Chang (1999), Kristen Gordon (1996) and Kim Mortenson (1995) were all "surprise" winners (some more so than others). So if there's anything that the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships have taught us, it's that anything can happen. Putting that aside, Trotter is still the favorite. Her exploits this season have been so impressive at times that some have refused to believe their legitimacy, claiming that the courses she is running must be short. Trotter drew national attention on October 20th when she broke Anita Siraki's Mt. SAC course record by 22 seconds, running 16:16 for a very hilly 2.91 miles. Several weeks later, she won the North Coast Section Meet of Champions on the Hayward High School course, breaking the course record - which had been held by 2000 Foot Locker Cross Country Champion Sara Bei - by 93 seconds, with a 16:15. She finally met her match (sort of) at the California State Meet when a driving rainstorm and chilly weather prevented her from taking a good shot at Julia Stamps' 16:43 Woodward Park course record. Instead, she ran 17:01 - the fourth-fastest time ever on the 5k course - and won by 45 seconds. Trotter's most recent course record came at the Foot Locker West Regional as she won by 43 seconds and broke Alicia Craig's year-old record by 22 seconds, running 17:14 on Mt. SAC's 5k course. Other
Notes:
...Trotter plans to attend NCAA Division III Middlebury College (pending admission) and major in Environmental Science and Spanish while running for the 2000-2001 national champions... Date of birth is January 6, 1984... Trotter has battled an eating disorder since her sophomore year, she was forced to sit out much of the 2001 track season as a result and is now in recovery. She has been open with reporters about this matter and says that what she's been through makes her more appreciative of what she's now been able to accomplish... In her spare time she likes to garden, play piano, sing, dance, bike, hike, swim, read and write poetry... Says her head coach Jerry Drew is one of her best friends. In
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