Katie Vanatta burst onto the National scene as a freshman winning the Colorado 4A State Cross Country title with an overall state best 18:07. In that freshman championship cross country race she won by more than 54 seconds. Her time was superior to the eventual Footlocker Midwest Champion Keara Sammons time, although Vanatta did not compete in the MW race.
She then exploded onto the scene with the 2nd fastest freshman 3200m behind only Jordan Hasay with a mind boggling 10:16.18. This was a mere explamation point to her state 1600m (4:56.08) and 3200m (10:40.66) victories.
Vanatta\'s sophomore season has been anything less than what we expected from her. It seems in every cross country race she broke 18 minutes, several times under 17 minutes for 5000m. On one such instance she was competing at the Jefferson County League Championship meet. She ran a unbelievable 16:55, 2nd place was 18:14. Her time was so supernatural that she would have placed in the top 10 for the boys race.
Vanatta again went on to win her state title by over a minute and again held the fastest time overall between all classifications. She produced another Vanatta like performance at her first trip to the Footlocker scene with a 2nd place Midwest Championship showing. Her time of 17:16 was the 3rd fastest time ever behind 2006 winner Emily Sisson 17:13 and arguably the greatest female high school distance runner ever Melody Fairchild 17:08 in 1990. Fairchild was also the 1990 Footlocker National Champion in one of the largest runaway victories of all-time when she set the historic 16:39 Balboa Park course record.
It is clear Vanatta has made a mark in both outdoor track and field and in the cross country scene. The next question is will she cross over into the eastern states dominated indoor track and field? The prestigious Millrose mile is fast approaching, Vanatta\'s 4:56 as a freshman has to place her in contention for an invitation. Competing as the #1 distance runner in the Rocky Mountain States from the Canada to the Mexico border she may be invited. Then again, as in the past Vanatta is being trained conservatively and very smart. We are eager to see what she can do on the indoor circuit, whether this occurs in 07\', 08\', or in 09\' we are sure she will do well and compete for the win.
What is known is that Vanatta is primed for a stellar outdoor season where she may dip under 10 minutes for the 3200m and 4:50 for the 1600m, both of which we are eager to see where Katie Vanatta goes next. Katie Vanatta is the Rocky Mountain Region December athlete of the month.