JOHN COLLETT
Staff Writer
When Courtney Young stepped onto the campus of Pepperdine University in the fall of 2004, her sole purpose was to play soccer. Fast forward four years and this former soccer standout now finds herself running long distance on the Pepperdine women’s track team.
“I’ve never really ran track at all,” Young said.
The junior grew up playing soccer all her life, and only participated in one year of varsity cross country while at La Costa Canyon High School in Encinitas, Calif.
Young competed on the Waves’ women’s soccer team from the fall of 2004 to the fall of 2005. While on the team in 2004, she helped her squad reach the “Sweet 16” in the NCAA tournament.
However, during her sophomore year tragedy struck her life. On Thanksgiving, her mother passed away from a rare form of gallbladder cancer. Young embraced running as an outlet during this tough time.
“I needed to drain that kind of energy,” Young said. “Running helped me clear my head. I now see that it is therapeutic, and I can see how it helps in all aspects of everything.”
This channel of running eventually elevated to an advanced level. As a sophomore, she contacted Pepperdine track coach Robert Radnoti and became a new member of the women’s track team.
“I converted over and decided to run,” Young said. “I realized that I needed to be a part of the team.”
After losing a major part of her family at home, this sense of team back in Young’s life brought her an entirely new family.
Her lifetime journey in soccer aided in her transition to running track. She quickly adapted to long-distance events such as the mile and the 3000-meter run.
“Soccer obviously helps physically,” Young said, “but I believe it helps even more mentally. With track, what you put into it is what you get out of it. Soccer has given me such a work ethic.”
This mental toughness has definitely caught the attention of her head coach.
“Courtney never misses a practice,” Radnoti said, “and always pushes herself to the brink.”
This season, Young represents one of the merely five upperclassmen on the women’s track team.
“She has been asked to step and be a leader right away,” Radnoti said. “She does a wonderful job of bringing along the freshmen.”
One such freshman who has been impacted by Young is Anna Honig, who traveled 2,200 miles from her hometown of Fort Wayne, Ind., to run track at Pepperdine.
“She really took us under her wing,” said the freshman, “and made us feel comfortable and welcome.”
Although these freshmen feel the impact of Young’s presence in their lives, they have returned the favor to Young.
“I don’t feel like I’m a role model,” the junior said. “It is refreshing to be around them because they are so excited that they get me excited about track.”
Young’s impact has been felt off the track as well. Honig came in to Pepperdine as a business major, but with the help of Young, Honig decided to embark into the field of education.
“Courtney gave me the encouragement to change majors and do what I really wanted to do,” Honig said.
Young is also an education major, and she plans on teaching at the elementary level.
“Teaching gives me such happiness,” Young said.
Her family undoubtedly helped implant this idea of teaching in her life – all the women in her family are teachers. Young understands what this profession will bring to her life.
“The kids make the experience,” Young said. “I want to go to work and be excited every day.”
These days, Young is keeping her focus on the moment and the current track season. Her commitment is impressive.
“I’ll go run every morning, even on days we have practice,” she said. “It’s like a cup of coffee, it get’s everything going.”
Running is not simply a sport to Young. It has developed into a routine. It has developed into a comfort. It has developed into her very being.
“Running releases all my daily stresses and gets my day started,” she said.
Young’s goals for this season are to simply improve her times — a goal she has already accomplished multiple times this season. In the team’s first track meet at UC Santa Barbara, Young broke the school record in the 3000 meters (10:27:75). Again, she broke her own record in the 3000 meters (10:26:34) during the West Coast Challenge at Pepperdine.
However, Radnoti holds even higher goals.
“We’re shooting for the Olympic trials in 2012,” said the third-year coach.
Whether it’s in the Olympics, on the track, or in the classroom, Pepperdine is fortunate to have someone of such compassion and dedication.
04-10-2008