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College changes Annis' outlook

An occasional series of updates on former Times athletes of the year.

By EMILY NIPPS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published June 26, 2002

Looking back at her four years at Stanford University, Caroline Annis wouldn't change a thing.

The former Plant track and cross-country star improved her times in the 1,500-, 5,000- and 10,000-meters. She was among the top Pacific 10 Conference distance runners, an All-America cross-country runner and was named to the conference's All-Academic team.

But most important, Annis learned how to relax.

"I think being out in California helped me adopt more of a laid-back attitude," Annis, 21, said. "I was always pretty intense and heavily into running, but I've learned how to put my competing into perspective, to balance things."

Not that intensity didn't serve her well. Annis, the 1998 Times Athlete of the Year as a senior, won 10 state titles (four in cross country, six in track) and maintained a perfect grade point average throughout high school.

Her quest for perfection landed her at Stanford, which has one of the top distance programs in the country, and the change of pace took some adjustment.

"I didn't expect to go in and be the top runner my freshman year," Annis said. "But I think it helps to go in with high expectations for yourself."

In her first season of cross country, Annis was named All-America after placing 40th (30th after foreigners were excluded) at the NCAA Championships. She also represented the United States with a 53rd-place finish at the World Junior Cross Country Championships in Belfast, Ireland.

Annis said she had "ups and downs" in cross-country and track as a collegian, but overall was proud of the improvement she made as a runner and a person. She learned to enjoy other things in life, such as friends, going out to eat and traveling.

Next month, Annis is taking a family trip to Italy, a country she said she has always been attracted to. The human biology major will be back at Stanford in the fall for graduate school and will study epidemiology (the study of disease). As for her successful running career, "It's time to move on," she said.

Annis might continue to run for exercise and fun, and has toyed with the idea of running in the occasional marathon, but regular training might give way to the finer things in life.

"I can't compete forever," Annis said. "Stanford's helped me realize that there's so many other things to explore and do."

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