Kristina DahlbergSchool: El Modena High SchoolSport: Cross-CountryHeight:...

Kristina Dahlberg

School: El Modena High School

Sport: Cross-Country

Height: 5-8

Weight: 125

Barely into her second year of serious running, Dahlberg is continuing her rapid development. In her first cross-country race of her sophomore year, she finished second at the Cal Poly Pomona Bronco Classic, helping El Modena to the team championship. Her time--19 minutes 29.9 seconds for three miles--eclipsed the course record, but another sophomore, Erica Sumi of Long Beach Wilson, set the new course record, finishing the race in 18:56.8.

Before Dahlberg started running with the El Modena team last summer, her athletic experiences basically were limited to playing for youth soccer teams. But she caught on quickly and soon was the top runner on El Modena’s girls’ team. She finished fourth in the Century League finals and ninth in the Southern Section 4-A cross-country championships last fall and third in the 1,600 at the Southern Section 3-A championships last spring. By the end of the school year, she had broken all but one El Modena varsity distance record. “It’s just sort of surprising because there was no indication that she would be as good as she turned out to be,” El Modena Coach Tom Weber said.

Other top performers:

* Natalie Austin, an El Modena cross-country runner whose third-place time of 19:42.7 at the Bronco Classic invitational beat the course record.

* Laura Amrofell, a Foothill cross-country runner whose seventh-place finish (17:56) in the Kiwanis Seaside Invitational in Ventura Saturday helped the Knights finish third in the team competition.

* Wendy Herb and Julie Lugaro, who led Rosary to a 15-11, 12-15, 15-13 victory over Valencia in the championship match of the Valencia girls’ volleyball tournament Saturday. Herb and Lugaro each made the all-tournament team.