Orange Lutheran’s Parkinson Got a Running Start on Success

ORANGE — Three weeks ago, she was a little-known distance runner from a small, private high school.

Today, Amber Parkinson of Orange Lutheran is one of the best 3,200-meter runners in Orange County history.

Not even she understands her sudden success.

“It’s exciting,” said Parkinson, a 5-foot-3, 99-pound sophomore in her first year of track. “Though I can’t really say how or why it’s happened.”

Few can, so let’s move on to the when and what:

--On April 13 at the Arcadia Invitational, Parkinson lines up for the 3,200-meter race--her second attempt at that distance--against one of the best high school fields in the nation.

Although she gets caught in the back of the pack, and runs the early stages of the race boxed in, she finishes eighth in 10 minutes 54.48 seconds--the 19th fastest time in county history.

--On the evening of April 20 at the Mt. SAC Relays, Parkinson places sixth in the 3,000 meters in 10:15.10--ranking her 16th on the county’s all-time list.

--The next morning, Parkinson sweeps the distance events at the Orange County Championships, edging Ocean View’s Christie Engesser in the 1,500--they finished with the same time of 4:39.97--and Woodbridge’s Kay Nekota in the 3,000.

Parkinson’s time in the 3,000 (10:12.70) moved her to 14th on the all-time list.

Today, Parkinson is expected to lead Orange Lutheran to the Olympic League team title at Fullerton College. She will run the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 at the meet, which starts at 2 p.m.

Although Parkinson is now its headliner, the Lancer team also has made great strides this season.

Orange Lutheran, a school of 432 students, surprised many by finishing third overall at the county championships, beating Mater Dei, Los Alamitos and Fountain Valley, among others.

On the same day as the county meet, Lancer Coach Jonathan Zimmerman sent a second varsity team to the Beaumont Invitational, which features small schools. Orange Lutheran won that meet as well.

Zimmerman, a fourth-year coach, attributes the team’s success to its willingness to work hard--Parkinson being the Lancers’ role model.

“Amber has a number of good qualities--she’s extremely quick, she’s very fit and like a good college athlete, she’s good at knowing if something’s wrong with her body and knowing how to communicate that to us,” Zimmerman said.

“Mostly, though, she works very hard and she’s really tough mentally and intelligent. I can see her being an Air Force fighter pilot someday.”

Unlike many high school running standouts, Parkinson did not compete before high school. In fact, she ran only a half of a cross-country season during her freshman year, and chose to compete in softball instead of track last spring.

Zimmerman was Parkinson’s physical education coach when she was a freshman. After he watched her run a few laps around the track, he invited her to join the cross-country team.

“He bugged me to go out for cross-country, but I told him I wanted to try tennis,” she said. “I made a deal with him that if I didn’t like tennis, I’d go out for cross-country.”

She quit tennis after her first day of practice.

“I rallied with this one girl, and I didn’t do too well,” she said. “Later, I found out she was the No. 1 player.”

A longtime club soccer player, Parkinson figures the endurance she gained from running up and down soccer fields helped her in track. (Edison’s Shelley Taylor, the county’s premier miler, also played soccer before she started running.) Other than that, Parkinson is as mystified as her opponents by her success.

“It’s fun being able to compete with all the good people, to be able to go out and take the race as a challenge and go for it,” she said.

Although she hasn’t set goals, Parkinson says she thinks she’s capable of breaking the county 3,200-meter record of 10:29.03, set by University’s Teresa Barrios in 1982.

“When I ran 10:54 (at Arcadia), I don’t know that it was easy, but when I was done I think maybe I could have gone faster,” Parkinson said. “I got caught behind the pack and I had to work my way up, so I know I can do better.

“When I’m hurting, I try not to think about it. I just think, ‘I can, I can, I can. . . . ‘ “

She usually does.