Lawrence seeks cross-country title that's eluded her

	Marie Lawrence has received scholarship offers from Arizona State, Colorado, Washington State and Oregon to run cross country. Joe Hartman/Nevada Union

Marie Lawrence has been a bridesmaid three times. The Reno (Nev.) High distance runner has finished second the last three years in the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships in San Diego.

Running the 3.1-mile course, she lost by 1.5 seconds as a freshman, eight seconds as a sophomore, and last year she lost by 10 seconds to California freshman Jordan Hasay.

Marc Bloom of marcbloomrunning.com calls Lawrence "sweet, humble unassuming and she has a kind of hidden strength. Her three straight Foot Locker seconds [finishes] should not be regarded as near misses, but speak to her consistency. It may be harder to place second three times in a row than win once."

"It's not as frustrating as other people might think," Lawrence said of her second-place finishes. "Losing to three different girls just shows everybody is getting better every week. I try not to look at things as disappointments. I'm going to work really hard and see where that takes me."

Last summer Lawrence made her own mark by setting two national records in the steeplechase. She ran the 2,000-meter event in 6:35.63 and the 3,000-meter event in 10:15.38. She holds Nevada records for 800 meters (2:11) and 1,600 meters (4:52) and twice has won the Class 4A state cross country championship.

The 5-foot-5, 115-pound dynamo has represented the USA three times in international competition. She placed second in the steeplechase during the 2005 Junior Pan American Games in Canada. In 2006, she finished 10th in the steeplechase in China.

These feats -- and a 3.3 GPA -- have earned scholarship offers from Arizona State, Oregon, Colorado and Washington State. Lawrence's sister, Collier, runs for Washington State and she says the two are "really, really close. We talk every day." Still, Marie says she will choose a college where -- if injured and unable to run -- she would still be happy as a regular student.