Get a good start and you might win the race. Get an early start training and you might become Michigan Runner's High School Runner of the Year.

Amber Smith, our 2002-03 pick, started distance running in third grade. By fourth grade, she was training with high school students.

So when the 5'7," 112-pound Smith started running for Ishpeming Westwood High School, she knew all about fartleks, intervals and hill workouts.

"By the end of her freshman year, she was already winning races," says Westwood cross country coach Steve Pohlman. "By the end of her sophomore year, no girl could touch her. Amber was that far ahead of everyone else in Upper Peninsula."

Smith's third-place 18:21 at the Foot Locker Midwest Regionals qualified her for Nationals in Orlando, Fla. "I was happy just to be there," says Smith, who placed 29th out of 32 girls in 18:34.

The next year, she got faster.

"I think Amber felt pressure during her sophomore year," says Pohlman. "She didn't seem happy with her times. During her (just-finished) junior year, she was more relaxed."

Smith won last fall's U.P. Finals in 18:49, placed second at Foot Locker Regionals (18:10), then grabbed fifth in Nationals at San Diego, running a 17:48 PR.

"I had a great experience meeting so many cool people there," says Smith. "I was happy and surprised that I ran so fast."

The 17-year-old had a stellar track season too. In the May 31 U.P. Finals, she swept the 800 meters (2:18), 1600 (5:01) and 3200 (11:07), all career-best times. She anchored Westwood's 4x800 relay too.

Two weeks later, Smith finished ninth in the mile at the Adidas Outdoor Nationals. She considers her 4:55 that day one of her best races. Another favorite is the 4x800 anchor leg she ran at the U.P. Finals her sophomore year.

Smith, who took the baton with Westwood in fourth, caught the leader. "Then my legs knotted up. I couldn't make them go faster," she remembers. "I finished one second behind the winner, but I gave everything I had."

Smith's 2:14 split would have been an 800-meter PR, if relays counted. That effort, plus her regional- and national-meet performances, shows Smith can rise to the competition.

She looks forward to running in college, but has not picked that school yet. "For now, I'd like to have a successful senior year in high school," she says.

Pohlman doesn't doubt Smith's potential to get to wherever she wants to go.

"Amber's so dedicated to running she basically coaches herself," says Pohlman. "She gets information on the internet, talks to other coaches and top runners.

"It's hard to keep up with her," Pohlman says. MR