Athlete: Allie Schadler
Year: Junior
School: Rio Rico High School
Location: Races - Places
800-meter PR: 2:11.51
Mile PR: 4:43.18
Key Workout:
- Other Hearst Subscriptions
- 3 sets of 4 x 400 meters. Jog 200 meters between each 400, and 400 meters between each set. Average 1:07, with the last set the fastest.
- Rio Rico, AZ
Allie Schadler of Arizona, the third-fastest sophomore miler in the nation last spring, will open her junior cross-country season on Friday evening at the Desert Solstice Invitational under the lights in Tucson. Schadler, who attends Rio Rico High School in southern Arizona, dropped 21 seconds from her freshman mile PR during her sophomore season, running 4:43.18 on May 29 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. With her growing experience in major events, Schadler feels poised to contend for national honors this fall.
Fall Plans: Schadler, who turned 16 in July, hopes to begin the season with a victory in Tucson as a springboard into the Stanford Invitational, September 26, in California. It will be Schadler’s first time running at Stanford, where she will compete against a number of elite competitors from California and beyond. Schadler will return to California a month later for the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational. Further down the road on November 7, Schadler will attempt to capture her third straight Arizona Division 3 cross country state championship. She ran 18:39 for 5K as a freshman and 18:14 as a sophomore.
National Goals: Last year, Schadler qualified for Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) in Portland, Oregon, by placing third at the Southwest Regional in 17:24 for 5K in Boise, Idaho. To prepare for the chillier Portland weather, Schadler did two weeks of training before sun up when temperatures were below freezing in her region of the Santa Cruz Valley. At NXN, she met her goal of finishing in an All-American spot, placing 17th. This season, Schadler hopes to move up and challenge for a top spot.
Summer Regimen: Over the summer Schadler attended a three-day camp with her Rio Rico team in Tucson and another three-day camp in Arizona’s White Mountains in the Northeastern part of the state. When school started in early August, her training progressed to double workouts. Because of the Arizona heat—many summer days temps climb over 100 degrees—Schadler did her morning runs of about six miles at 5:20 a.m., through the streets of the small town of Tubac (population 1,191) where she lives. After school, she added another few miles, totaling about 50 miles a week.
Track Triumphs: After coming into last spring with a 5:04 mile PR from freshman year, Schadler won the Division 3 state title in the 800 and 1600 on May 8 in 2:15.20 and 4:45.15, then a PR. Her 800 best, run a week earlier, was 2:11.51, 10 seconds faster than she ran as a freshman. Those performances earned Schadler an invitation to the Prefontaine race, which contested elite high school boys and girls miles for the first time. “At first,” Shadler says, “I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into.”
PR City: Schadler says that being in Eugene at the IAAF Diamond League meet, and experiencing the Track Town USA energy at Hayward Field, “was the most exciting thing I’ve ever done.” She “made the mistake” of looking at the huge crowd before the race, which made her “really nervous,” she says. Despite getting boxed in and pushed around on the last lap, Schadler was happy with a PR and learning lessons about race presence and competitive maturity from the top finishers. Ryen Frazier of North Carolina won a thrilling homestretch duel over another Arizona girl, Dani Jones, in a photo finish. Shadler finished eighth. Never before had 10 high school girls broken 4:45 in the same mile race.
School Pride: Schadler was joined in Eugene by her Rio Rico teammate Carlos Villareal, a senior who won the boys’ mile in 4:05.25. He’s now a University of Arizona freshman. Villareal’s encouragement and fearless racing style were a big factor in Schadler’s sophomore breakthroughs. “Carlos was the quintessential competitor,” says Rio Rico coach Steve Schadler, Allie’s father. “His temperament was, ‘I’ll race anybody, anytime, anywhere…’ Allie learned from him.”
Fast Family: Steve and his wife, Toni Ann, met in New Jersey at Bergenfield High in the early 1980s. She was cross country state champion and a top miler. In 1984 he was the nation’s fourth-fastest high school miler in 4:09.35 and the Millrose Games high school mile champion. Toni Ann went on to run for Indiana. He ran for Stanford. They kept a long-distance relationship until both found their way to Arizona to pursue careers in education in the early 1990s. Toni Ann teaches and coaches track and cross country at a local middle school. Steve, assistant superintendent for curriculum in the Santa Cruz school district, coaches track and cross country at the high school. In addition to Allie, the Schadlers have another daughter, Samantha, a Rio Rico freshman who on September 5 won her first high school cross-country race, running the 5K in 18:59.
Close Comforts: As coaches, Schadler’s parents have provided her continuity, careful nurturing and constant feedback that she feels has been a blessing. “We talk all the time,” she says of her father’s counsel. “He tells me how I did, what I could do better and what assets he sees in me. I really like that.” Shadler says she counts on her father for a confidence boost now and then. “He keeps telling me I’m one of the best runners,” she says. “I’m trying to convince myself of that too.”
Speed Thrills: Schadler prefers track to cross country because she draws energy from the crowds and can feel her legs fly in the shorter events. Last spring she ran a 200 in 27 seconds and hopes to sharpen her kick this fall.
High Grades: Last semester, Schadler earned straight A’s. She likes science and is taking AP chemistry this term, and the homework load is cutting into her sleep time. For Schadler, getting the eight hours of sleep advised for all teenagers, especially runners, is a work in progress.
Outdoor Finale: Schadler’s last race was a 4:49.37 third-place finish in the mile on June 19 at New Balance Nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was a stormy weekend and the day before her race she did an easy run with her dad. While running, they got caught in a downpour so bad they could not see the ground in front of them. After getting lost they found their way back to the stadium. Soaked to the bone, father and daughter didn’t go home—they sat in the stands watching the meet.
Marc Bloom’s high school cross-country rankings have played an influential role in the sport for more than 20 years and led to the creation of many major events, including Nike Cross Nationals and the Great American Cross Country Festival. He published his cross-country journal, Harrier, for more than two decades.
