AMBER SMITH
Distance
Junior, VR
Ishpeming, Mich. (Westwood)
PERSONAL BESTS
800-Meter: 2:18 (2003)
Mile: 4:55 (2003)
3,200-Meter: 11:07 (2003)
2008 OUTLOOK: Amber is the healthiest she has ever been and is training well with the aspiration of advancing to the Big 12 meet in May.
2007: Did not compete.
2006: Did not compete.
2005: Redshirt. Did not compete.
Cross Country: Smith ran in one race for CU in 2007, the Air Force Invite. She placed 10th overall and was the fifth Buff to cross the finish. Smith took a redshirt for the 2005 season and did not compete in the 2006 season. She was one of two freshmen to run all five races in 2004, earning All-Big 12 recognition with an 11th place finish, as the second highest finishing true freshman, and all-NCAA Mountain Region with a 16th place effort in Fort Collins. In her first national title race, she finished 78th as the Buffs’ sixth runner.
High School: Smith is Wetmore’s first land from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She 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-meter 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 three-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. She chose Colorado over Notre Dame and Stanford.
ACADEMICS: 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. She’s an English major at Colorado who scored an NCAA Cross Country National Championship in-season 4.00, one of four members of the 2005 track team to do so. She finished her freshman year with another 4.00. Smith carries a 3.911 GPA and has been a Dean’s List and Commissioner’s Honor Roll member all five semesters.
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. She’s an accomplished seamstress and enjoys vintage shopping and clothes, drawing and spending time with friends.
