Valerie Lauver (4th, South)

Hometown: Allen, TX
High School: Allen High School
Year of Graduation: 2002

After grabbing the eighth and final national qualifying spot by one second a year ago, Valerie Lauver left less to chance this year by finishing a solid fourth at the South Regional, earning her second consecutive trip to the Foot Locker National Finals. Last year, Lauver finished 19th at the National meet.

Early in the season Lauver ran well on the national stage, finishing second behind Washington's Alison Tubbs at the Great American Cross Country Festival in Charlotte, NC. She later finished third at the Texas 5A State Meet, running 10:50 for two miles, four seconds behind winner Mindy Sullivan. Lauver tends to excel at the longer distances so she doesn't mind moving up to 5k for Foot Locker Regionals and Nationals. She was able to defeat in-state rival Sullivan by one second at the Regional, 17:41 to 17:42.

Valerie Lauver runs with the pack at the 2001 Foot Locker South Regional. (Photo by PhotoRun, click to enlarge)

Other Notes:
...Has a tradition of cutting one inch off her hair before big meets. She claims it makes her feel faster... Lauver recently signed a letter of intent to attend Missouri...

In the News:
Lauver runs down spot in national meet (11/29/01)
Finishes third in Texas 5A State Meet (11/10/01)
Wins regional race in 11:01 (11/4/01)
Schools look to advance (11/3/01)
Allen girls face tough task in repeat bid (10/27/01)
Lauver finishes second to Alison Tubbs at Great American (9/21/01)
Runs 37:22 10k (1/13/01)
USRunning.com interview with Valerie Lauver (Fall 2000)