In the classroom and on the NCAA running track, Emma Balazs's versatility took her to new heights as a student at the University of Idaho.
Fresh from graduating Kelly Road secondary school, Balazs has just capped her first year as a college athlete and her accomplishments are certainly worth bragging about.
It started last fall when she helped the Idaho cross-country team win its fourth consecutive Western Athletic Conference (WAC) title and continued in January when she started competing in indoor meets. Having never run the 800-metre distance during her time with the Prince George Track and Field Club, Balazs ended up with her first NCAA top-10 finish on her home track in Moscow, Idaho, finishing in a personal best 2:14.
"I never knew I could run the 800," said Balazs, from her Moscow apartment.
In spring, Balazs switched from the cavernous Kibbie Dome to training at the Dan O'Brien Track and Field Complex on the Idaho campus to focus on the 800m, 1,500m and steeplechase events. Her outdoor season was highlighted by a sixth-place finish in her favourite event, the 3,000m steeplechase at the WAC championships in Orem, Utah. Two Idaho athletes, both seniors, finished 1-2 in the event.
She also set a personal best 11:09 time in the 1,500m at Oregon State in Eugene.
"In outdoor I ran mostly 800s and steeplechases, which is a weird mixture because usually if you're in steeple you run either the 5K or the 1,500m," said Balazs.
"The highlight was our team winning the conference in Utah. Personally, the race at the WAC championships where I got sixth in the 3,000 steeplechase championships was the best race for me. It meant the most because the points it got for the team. It felt good."
Having an intense indoor training program dovetail into a series of indoor meets from January to the end of March was a new opportunity for Balazs. She's taken just two weeks off from her running pursuits since midsummer in 2013 and won't likely get a break this year until early August.
"I really like it because I never felt like I've got out of shape," she said Balazs. "I haven't had a chance to get out of shape. I'll still be training until the end of July."
Her scheduled summertime competitions are all north of the 49th parallel, beginning with the junior national championships in St-Thrse, Que. Balazs is entered in the 2,000m steeplechase. If she finishes in the top-two and meets the qualifying standard, she could qualify for the IAAF world junior championships in Eugene, July 22-27.
She also plans to run the 1,500m event in the Victoria International Classic meet in Victoria, July 8, and at the Harry Jerome meet in Vancouver, July 10.
Balazs was the only Prince George athlete on the Idaho track team but the Vandals' head coach, Wayne Phipps, is also from the city. Phipps announced a few weeks ago he's moving on to Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., an eight-mile drive across the state line from Moscow. He starts his new job as head coach of the Cougars July 1.
"I really like Wayne, he's pretty relaxed, similar to [PGTFC coach] Brian Martinson, so it was pretty similar to home for me," she said. "Wayne makes you decide what events you want to do, he won't tell you. Sadly he's leaving, but he won't be far away. He'll make sure everything is taken care of."
The Vandals will switch the Big Sky Conference next year, which Balazs says is more competitive than the WAC.
Balazs, a straight-A student whose tuition, food, lodging and books are covered by a full-ride scholarship, picked anthropology as her major in the fall but switched to health and exercise science for her second semester. To catch up to her classmates she jammed her second semester with seven courses, including chemistry and math, and still managed a 3.77 grade-point average (out of a possible 4.0).
"Yoga was my worst class because it started in the morning at 6:30," she said. "We practiced a lot [at night] and I barely had any free time."
