By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Apparently mother knows best.
When Chanelle Price was 12 years old, she tried out for the United Stars Track Club, based in Philadelphia, Pa. “After the first day of practice, she wanted to quit,” Coach Ken Abney told MaxPreps. “But her mother (Yolanda) wouldn’t let her quit and she has been going ever since.”
Price, a recent graduate of Easton, Pa., High School, also credits her mother’s recommendation for specializing in the 800-meter run. She originally was a sprinter, running the 200- and 400-meter dashes. She explained, “It was my mom’s suggestion, because after the four (400), she saw that I wasn’t tired. I didn’t think I wanted to do anything longer than the four, but she’s my mom and I said, ‘what the heck.’ ’’
The personable teenager has mixed her natural ability with a tremendous work ethic to establish a National Federation record in the 800 (2:02.90) and become one of the frontrunners for National Female Track Athlete of the Year. Her time, if compared to the top collegians this spring, would rank No. 3 in the nation.
Later she ran the second-fastest non-Federation 800 (2:01.61) while placing sixth against college and professional runners during the prestigious Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore. Price briefly took the lead before faltering in the final 100 meters. The record of 2:00.07 by two-time Olympic medalist Kim Gallagher of Upper Dublin (Pa.) has stood since 1982. Price’s idol, 35-year-old Maria Mutola, won this year’s 800 in 1:59.24.
“The two superstars of the year are on the girls side,” says Jack Shepard, longtime high school editor for Track & Field News. “Chanelle Price might be the best of them all. The other super femme is Christine Babcock (Woodbridge, Irvine, Calif.).”
“She is very driven and intelligent,” says Bruce Buratti, who has covered Price extensively for the Easton Express-Times. “She knows her body very well. And she is not treated with kid gloves like a lot of elite runners. Four times this year she ran four events in a dual meet. She’s very critical of herself. She says, ‘There are very few races that you’ll see a smile on my face.’ She’s the perfect teammate.
“She goes out really hard (on the first lap). She grits her teeth and hangs on (if she tires on the final lap).”
“I usually don’t worry about the competition,” Price explained. “I race against the clock. I like to get out and make people chase after me.”
The 5-foot-6 Price grew up in Scotch Plains, N.J., where she took up dancing at age three. She began soccer at age eight. She also played point guard in basketball and even dabbled in “baseball with the boys. I was always a tomboy,” she readily admits.
She started track with the Scotch Plains Jaguars at age nine, noting, “All of my soccer coaches recommended that I run track because I never got tired. When I was younger, I really didn’t like it. If I ever had dancing or track practice (on the same day), I’d choose dancing,” she laughed.
Still, she made it to the Colgate Women’s Games at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden as a nine-year-old and placed fourth (she was seeded sixth) in her age-group 400-meter race. “It felt good, but it was nerve wracking,” she admitted.
Her family moved to Easton when she was 11 and she points out, “I didn’t really get serious about it (track) until we moved to Easton. She started out with the Police Athletic League, but quickly moved to the United Stars in Philadelphia (a three and one-half hour round trip to practice). She ran her first 800 that year and placed eighth in the Hershey (Pa.) Nationals.
At age 13, she “dropped all other sports to concentrate on track. I picked track because it was an individual sport. Everything depends on how hard you work as an individual.”
As an Easton High freshman, Price placed second in the state indoor and outdoor meets in the 800. Though a tough competitor, she was happy with her indoor finish because the winner – junior Latavia Thomas of Philadelphia West Catholic – was tops in the nation. Her best outdoor time of 2:12 was set in a district meet. That summer she placed second in the 800 (2:08) during the Junior Olympics at Indianapolis, Ind.
As a sophomore, she added cross country (5K) for the first time, making running truly a year-round proposition. She ran 20-25 miles per week – only about half of what most were doing – but still placed 23rd in the state meet. The bottom line: she immediately saw an improvement in her 800 times.
For the indoor season, she discovered, “I wasn’t as tired and I was a lot stronger.” She again placed second to Latavia Thomas during the indoor state meet with a time of 2:12. During the outdoor season, she captured her first Class AAA state title with a time of 2:10. “Placing second had started to get a little annoying,” she laughed.
That summer she won her first national title with a career-best 2:07 clocking at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C. She called it “the highlight of my whole track career (to that point). I was truly serious and passionate about my track career and became determined to be the best.”
In the fall of her junior year, Price placed third in the state cross country meet. She noted, “I run all year-round, but cross country is like my fun season. I’m not really familiar with the distance. I just run,” she laughed.
Price had a fantastic indoor state meet, sharing four first places and sparking her team to the state championship. She won the 1,600-meter run in 5:06, then one hour later captured the 800 in a meet and career-best time of 2:04. She also anchored the 4x400- and 4x800-meter relays to first-place finishes.
“Surprisingly, I wasn’t tired,” she said of her heroic efforts. “My training had picked up and I was going to Philadelphia about three times a week. When you work the hardest, you get your best results.”
Price’s indoor success carried over to the outdoor season. She won her first 800 state title in 2:05 – while also anchoring a first- and second-place relay – and the Red Rovers captured their first-ever track team championship.
Easton coach Andy Messa won’t ever forget her anchor on the second-place 4x400 relay, which clinched the title. She took the baton even-up with Methacton’s own national-class runner, Ryann Krais.
“The whole crowd goes nuts,” Messa described. “I’m screaming like a mad man. Within the first 10 meters, she’s already got the lead. She beat Krais by close to a full second and we took the silver.”
The summer before her senior year had many highlights. She ran her best-ever 800 time (2:02.8) to set a meet record at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. One week later she recorded another career best, 2:02.3, while placing seventh against professionals during the USA Championships in Indianapolis. That still is her biggest thrill.
In mid-July Price represented the U.S. during the World Youth Championships in the Czech Republic. She was seeded No. 1 and was leading the 800 coming down the final stretch before being pushed, falling down and finishing a distant sixth. “It was heart-breaking,” she conceded. “Wearing that USA uniform, I felt like I let everybody down.”
The Easton superstar calls her senior cross country campaign “kind of rocky because I did all of my college visits and missed some meets and training.” However, she still placed ninth in the state meet.
Her senior indoor season was memorable because she chose to run several different events. She set a national record in the 500-meter run (1:10) during the New Balance Invitational at the Armory in New York City. She also won the 1,000-meter run in 2:35 for an Armory record. At the state meet she defended her 800 title in 2:09 and placed second in the 400.
Price’s outdoor campaign was somewhat different, too, because the state champs had lost heavily through graduation. The Red Rovers had not lost a dual meet over the previous five years, so to keep the streak alive she volunteered to be the workhorse. She often ran four events in a meet – 34 races during the year – but despite her valiant efforts, Easton still lost five dual meets.
The outdoor season was climaxed by her brilliant 2:02.90 championship at the Pennsylvania state meet. It set state and National Federation records. “Both were held by former Olympians,” she said proudly. “It just brought my confidence a notch higher.”
The state meet finished at 3:30 p.m. and her prom was to start at 7. She got home at 6 and admits to having a “very stressful hour. Most girls take all day (to get ready). I was late, but I was glad I even got to go.”
Despite running 12 months a year, Price has maintained a near-perfect 98.5 GPA, with math being her favorite subject. She also has served three years on the Easton Student Council, is a member of the National Honor Society and volunteers at Vacation Bible School and with the Special Olympics. In addition, she speaks to elementary and middle school students and hands out track awards.
The young superstar loves to write, particularly short stories, and plans to major in communications when she attends the University of Tennessee on a track scholarship. She says she will be especially happy to join the Vols in the fall because they have so many other national-class athletes that she no longer will have to shoulder all of the load. “Sometimes the pressure can be overwhelming,” she confided.
Beyond college her goals include “being an Olympian, professional runner and owning my own women’s sports magazine.”
She will start quest No. 1 on June 27-28-30 when she competes at the Olympic Trials as one of the youngest participants in Eugene, Ore.
Among her idols are Allyson Felix, Wilma Rudolph and Maria Matola, who is retiring this year.
Asked what the long-term future holds for Price, coach Abney replied, “As long as she stays motivated, her potential is unlimited. She has the ability.”
