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Casa distance runner a fast learner
Headed for the state semifinals, Ashton LeSieur excels in 1,600 meters

May 28, 2004
By NATHAN WRIGHT
FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Contrary to what Ashton LeSieur has been taught, Saturday's Meet of Champions track and field competition isn't a
punishment.
LeSiuer's two favorite sports are basketball and soccer, and in both sports coaches use running as discipline. She's
not in trouble, but the Casa Grande track and field coaching staff hopes she'll run all the same.
The 17-year-old junior will compete in the 1,600-meter and the 4x400 relay races in the state semifinal Saturday at
UC Berkeley, and if she does well in either race she'll move on to the state track and field championships at Sacramento
State University on June 5.
"It's still a punishment," LeSieur said of running, "but I enjoy it now that I'm faster."
Friends say she's always been fast. "In the seventh grade she beat me with a pink cast," said teammate Michael Becker,
who went to Kenilworth Junior High with LeSieur. "She always won. She always wants it, whenever there's a race."
Becker eventually caught and passed LeSieur in the eighth grade, but that doesn't stop the two friends from training together.
Casa Grande track coach Sheryl Roberto has noticed that her star distance runner enjoys training with the boys, and
said it pushes them to work harder. "They don't want to be beat by a lady," she said.
LeSieur also has the respect of her opponents.
At last week's North Coast Section track meet, only Montgomery runner Kim Conley posted a better time than LeSieur
in the 1,600.
"She's an excellent runner," Conley said. "She goes out really fast, which is good. I like it when someone goes out fast."
Conley is a senior, and plans to run at UC Davis next year. At last week's track meet, she invited LeSieur to join her in college. "We'll train together at Davis," she said.
LeSieur competes in track, soccer and basketball. She is a member of the Santa Rosa United Girls under-17 Storm soccer
team that recently won the California State Cup.
Most of the players are from Santa Rosa and have played together for most of their lives, but it didn't take LeSieur very
long to get noticed when she joined the team last year.
"She's a monster," teammate Jackie Alvarez said. "She's really, really fast. She plays in the backfield and can dribble up
the field and score."
While Alvarez appreciates this speed in games, she avoids it in practice. "When we do long sprints, we get into groups,"
she said. "Everyone runs away from Ashton. She'll make you look bad."
Storm coach Paul Dixon also is impressed with LeSieur.
"She has a great personality and she works very hard," he said. "In long distance she outruns everyone. She's so much
stronger than everyone else."
Dixon thinks she has the talent to play soccer in college if she continues playing.
LeSieur also plays in a private basketball league sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union, a premier youth sports
organization.
Roberto allows LeSieur to skip track practice twice a week to play soccer and basketball, but believes she could be
one of the best runners the area has ever seen if she concentrated entirely on track.
"She'd be amazed at what she could do," Roberto said. "I don't think we'd be amazed; we see what she can do. She
doesn't realize her potential. She could be one of the runners that everyone looks at and says, 'Wow, where did she
come from?' But she's got to want it."
Cross country and track distance coach Carl Triola hopes she'll run in college. "She's by far the best girl I've ever
coached," he said. "She could definitely run at the Division I level. After that it comes down to what she wants."
LeSieur isn't sure where she'll attend college, but is looking at Southern California schools. "Colleges have been
contacting her, but she hasn't responded to any," said Chris LeSieur, her father. "I'd love to see her take an interest in one."
You can reach Correspondent Nathan Wright at 694-4053 or nwright01@yahoo.com.

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