Just a freshman, Palos Verdes cross country runner wins race in New York

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

Note: Remember, we are looking for those student-athletes who had a standout performance in their sport from the previous week, but we also are looking for a balance between athletic achievement, academic work in the classroom, community service or overcoming adversity. Send nominations to mark@studentsports.com.

Even if she were a senior, Rebecca Mehra would be way too young to remember legendary Palos Verdes (and Peninsula High when Palos Verdes closed for around 10 years) track and cross-country coach Joe Kelly.

Mehra's current coach at re-opened Palos Verdes, Brian Shapiro, remembers Coach Kelly as does ESPNRISE CalHiSports.com marketing manager Kirstin Leach. Both ran for Kelly; Shapiro, his protégée, at Peninsula in the mid-90s during Palos Verdes closure, and Leach as Kirstin O'Hara as a state champion for Palos Verdes in the 3,200 in 1984.

Kelly's retired now and living in Washington State, but if he saw Mehra run he'd be pleased to know the Sea Kings' girls program looks strong for the next four years 

That's right, at least four years, because this young running phenom is not a senior, she's only a freshman, and she just won a varsity division of the Manhattan Invitational cross country meet last weekend in New York.

Her time of 15 minutes, 7.93 seconds in the 2.5 mile Varsity Girls Division E race, where each division is equally graded, bested her nearest rival by over 18.5 seconds.

Mehra's time was also the second fastest of any freshman competing in the six varsity girls fields. Those fields had over 1,500 runners combined in the East Coast's biggest and most prestigious meet, a meet Shapiro called "the Mt. SAC Invitational of the East Coast.

"To be honest, she won by such a healthy margin that had she been pressed she could have run 15-20 seconds faster," Shapiro told CalHiSports.com

The fact that it was only Rebecca's third race of the season, with two firsts and one second place finish, makes it even more significant an accomplishment.

It also was a disadvantage for Rebecca that she was running on the other side of the country in a time zone she's not used to and while staying in a New York hotel room with three other girls. Nearly all of the other runners in the field were from East Coast schools, although there were some hills on the Van Courtland Park course in The Bronx in which Mehra's hill training may have paid off. 

At the Sept. 21 Woodbridge Cross Country Classic in Irvine, Mehra won the second highest rated race, the Invitational portion, with a 17:27 over the 3-mile course.

On Sept. 25 in a Bay League meet on the rugged, hilly Palos Verdes course, she finished second in the varsity race with a time of 19:47 for three miles. 

"Rebecca's like a lot of younger girls who are coming up through the age-group races for middle school kids," said Shapiro, a chemistry teacher at Palos Verdes in his third year coaching cross country and track. "Younger girls are naturally competitive but a lot of times they don't understand the magnitude of a big race. Like other top young girl runners, with Rebecca, her natural instincts take over, and it keeps her from getting psyched out." 

"She's not a nubee to running," said O'Hara, who saw Mehra run Thursday afternoon at a league meet against her husband Bob Leach's Redondo Union (Redondo Beach) team. "She has a history of age-group running and runs with Andy's daughter."

Andy's daughter would be Mehra's Sea Kings' teammate, Danika Bark, daughter of ESPN RISE vice president Andy Bark and the longtime publisher of CalHiSports.com. Danika, who is also a freshman, finished 19th in the same race in New York as Rebecca, with a time of 16:19.27. 

Another Sea King who ran well at the Manhattan Invitational is junior Rachel Warschaw. She finished third to Mehra with a time of 15:30.02.

After hearing more about Rebecca and everything she's doing right now besides running, it's hard to believe she's only in ninth grade.

Mehra's a top notch student in honors classes with a 4.0 plus GPA, does model United Nations, plays soccer, and also plays the flute.

"I was first chair flute last year [in middle school] and that's my goal here [at Palos Verdes]," said Mehra with pride in her voice. "With the model United Nations, I really like the aspect of formally dressing up and the debating."

It is a pretty decent resume and an excellent vocabulary with it for a girl of so tender an age.

Still, it's cross country, where Rebecca is really making a name for herself.

"I started running in 6th grade in PE," Mehra told CalHiSports.com. "I was the only sixth-grader to run the mile and I won against 7th and 8th graders. After that I started cross country the next year."

The rest is history, albeit a short one, but with what looks like a very bright future.

Running and athletics are a big part of the Mehra household.

Rebecca's father, Ajay, the president of a company that makes security products, played rugby, soccer and ran track in England where he was raised.

Her mother Jayne was a runner who also played tennis and volleyball.

Younger sister Monica, a 6th-grader, plays soccer and runs cross country.

It's a little early but Rebecca is already thinking that running together with good grades may get her into a top college. "I'm pretty good at soccer but I'm better at cross country and I feel it's more recognizable for college," Mehra said.

Then, as the interview closed, the teenage girl couldn't help but come out.

"Oh my gosh, I really won, that's so cool."

About as cool as the breeze Mehra makes as she flies around the hills and dales of cross country courses.