Amber Smith

Height:
5-10
Class:
Junior
Hometown:
Ishpeming, Mich.
High School:
Westwood

COLLEGE--2006: Did not compete.

2005: Redshirt. Did not compete.

2004: Smith was the top true freshman on the 2004 team during the regular season, relinquishing the title during the post. Her sixth-place Rocky Mountain Shootout finish was the best by a CU true freshman since Sara (Gorton) Slattery finished second in ?00 and her 35th place finish at Pre-Nats is the best by a CU frosh since teammate Christine Bolf finished 43rd in 2002. When she and classmate Liza Pasciuto crossed the finish line in 10th and 11th at the Big 12 Championships, they did so as the top two true freshmen in the race. She finished with all-region honors with a 15th place finish at the NCAA qualifying race before finishing 78th, as the Buffs’ sixth runner, at the NCAA Championships.

HIGH SCHOOL: Smith earned four varsity letters from Westwood in cross country under coach Steve Pohlman, but received most of her workouts from University of Michigan junior Emily Anderson who is from Marquette, Mich. She ran the 800-3,200-m relay during track season for coach Jim Marana, but again received workouts from Anderson. As a freshman, Smith was a member of the UP Dream Team, all-state, and was the UP Division II State Champion in cross country. She repeated her Dream Team status her sophomore through senior seasons and her all-state finish her sophomore through senior campaigns. As a sophomore she added UP Runner of the Year (a title she held through her senior season), first-team FootLocker Midwest, and was a member of the All-American Sophomore Team. She was a first-team FootLocker Midwest, first-team All-American and was named National Athlete of the Week by Scholastic Sports Magazine. Her senior cross country season she was the Michigan Runner magazine Runner of the Year, Miss Michigan Cross Country and second team FootLocker Midwest. The highlight of her high school career was a 2002 All-American fifth-place FootLocker Nationals finish, a race she also ran as a sophomore. She is the four-time UP Division II State champion in the 800 through 3,200-m, setting three UP finals records, entering her final season on the track. The Patriots were the 2002-03 U.P. State Girls Division II Track Champions, 2001-03 Girls Mid-Peninsula Conference Champions and 2002 and ’03 Mid-Peninsula Conference Cross Country Championships. She holds Westwood school records in the 800 (2:18, 2003 UP track finals), 1,600 (4:53 converted), 3,200 (11:07) and as a member of the Patriots’ 3,200-m relay team as well as the Stephenson cross country course record (17:53) while her 5k cross country pr is 17:48. She finished eighth in the 2004 USA Junior Women’s Cross Country Championships in Indianapolis, and assumed alternate status, missing the automatic qualifying finish by two places.

IN THE CLASSROOM: An English and art major with a minor in French, Smith turned in a pair of perfect President’s List 4.00 semesters her freshman year and currently owns a 3.938 GPA. Academically she was an All "A" Honor Roll student and Excellence in Education all four years. She was the National Honor Society secretary as a junior and senior and was class Valedictorian.

PERSONAL: Amber Whitney Smith was born May 23, 1986 in Ishpeming. She is the daughter of Charles and Mary Smith and the younger sister of Charles who is a senior at Northern Michigan. An accomplished seamstress and enjoys vintage shopping and clothes, drawing and spending time with friends.