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Runner Smith ready for her shot as All-American

By TERRY CARTER
For The Chronicle


Brazoswood High School junior Lauren Smith earned her ticket to the 2007 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships weeks ago.

Today the Texas Class 5A state cross country champion will chase her dream of national All-American honors.

She runs at the five-kilometer Balboa Park course in San Diego at 11:15 a.m.

Smith is pursuing a top-15 finish at the meet, which would earn her notice as an All-American.

The boys will run at 10 a.m. with Southlake Carroll's Colby Lowe (14:45) bringing in the top qualifying time among the regional qualifiers.

Running at the Foot Locker South Regional in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Nov. 24, Smith finished ninth in the elite field.

Of the four regionals, the South Regional, which was won by Tennessee's Kathy Kroeger (16:56) in a photo finish with Florida's Kayla Hale, yielded the best times by far.

Smith's 17:32 would have placed her in the top three in the West, Midwest or Northeast regionals.

So a top-15 finish is not out of the question, but it will require Smith's best effort.

She finished the year unbeaten in Texas and dominated District 24-5A with a 10:44 over 3,200 meters.

"Everyone was pretty good at my regional," Smith said. "I'm hoping (to finish in the top 15) and run my best,"

Smith's mother and grandmother are in San Diego rooting for a local victory.