Reebok Top 25 Most Dynamic Athletes: Sarah Baxter

Sarah Baxter is so good, many people think she has already graduated. At last week’s Gatorade Athlete of the Year ceremony in Hollywood, she was asked more than once what the highlight of her senior year was and what her goals were as a freshman in college.

The incoming 5-foot-6 Simi Valley (Calif.) senior has accomplished so much as a track and cross country standout, it seems inconceivable that she has yet another school year to pile up more records, titles and accolades.

“I don’t really do it for all that,” she said. “I just like to run and be around my teammates.”

Baxter’s resume is filled with nothing but triumphs. She’s unbeaten in her prep career on both the track and on the cross country courses. That seems impossible, but it’s true.



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Especially remarkable considering that she runs in one of the nation’s hotbeds for distance running, Southern California.

She’s a two-time defending Nike Cross National champion and three-time state champion in cross country. She also won her third-straight 3,200-meter state title in track.

So which sport does she prefer?

“Running hills is my favorite part of running, so I definitely prefer cross country,” she said. “Besides that, the team is much smaller and you get to know everyone better and spend more time with them.”

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Hometown: Simi Valley (Calif.)

School: Simi Valley High (enrollment 2,500)



Class: 2014

Sports: Cross country, track and field (1,600 and 3,200 meters)

College plans: She’s just started her recruiting process. She plans to get more serious about the process once the cross country season is over. The schools of note she said she’s received offers from are Oregon, Washington and Colorado. “I haven’t jumped to any conclusions yet,” she said. Though most of the schools she’s mentioned are on the West Coast, she’ll consider the Midwest, South and East as well.

Favorite athlete: American distance standout Shalane Flannigan, who won the bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters at the 2008 Olympics.

Secret passion: The self-effacing and good-natured Baxter admits she runs, “because I can’t do anything else.” But in her secret life, she would love to be a basketball player, “Because it’s a sport I totally understand” and on the track she would love to be a hurdler. “Hurdlers are cool,” she said.
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With all eyes on her, Baxter finished off one of the best cross country seasons ever by winning her second-straight Nike Cross Nationals championship at Portland Meadows in Oregon.

She became the first runner to win consecutive NXN titles by crossing over a muddy course in 19 minutes, 16.79 seconds, edging New York phenom Mary Cain, who was second in 19:20.88.

Earlier, Baxter set a California State Division I record while taking her third-straight title at Woodward Park in Fresno in a course record of 16:40. She also broke course records at the Mt. SAC Invitational, Marmonte League championship and Southern Section championship.



Despite her domination in the sport, she couldn’t be more unassuming or supportive, according to teammates. It’s not phony either, they told the Los Angeles Times.

Often Baxter will finish a race, wipe down, take a few breaths and then go back to cheer on her teammates.

“We’ll all be kicking around the finish and she’ll be standing there all rested and waiting for us,” teammate Sarah Riggs told Bill Plaschke. “It’s just unnatural.”
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Baxter became just the fourth runner in California history to win three girls 3,200 titles, winning in 10:10.71 before almost 9,000 fans at Veterans Stadium on the campus of Buchanan High School in Clovis.

She won by more than 14 seconds though it didn’t surpass her season best of 10:06.74, the second-best mark in the nation for 2013 and first among juniors.

Baxter also had the fourth-best 3,200 time in 2013 while winning the Arcadia Invitational in 9:34.44. Her best time in the 1,600 was 4:53.66.

She’ll try to join Jordan Hasay, a graduate of Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) now starring at the University of Oregon, as a four-time winner of California’s 3,200 run. Baxter started high school just as Hasay had exited and has often drawn comparisons to the distance running legend.



“I am glad to have accomplished nearly everything that she did,” Baxter told reporters after the 2013 state meet. “But I still have a season to go.”
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