DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

It seems like every year Corona del Mar High Coach Bill Sumner has a star runner or two who’s made his girls’ team a contender or a champion.

Melanie Powers seems to be the next in line. The opportunity is definitely there for her. Will Powers be Sumner’s next great distance runner?

She certainly appears capable of meeting the challenge. It takes three words to explain why Powers can become the Sea Kings’ lead runner.

Born to run.

To know Powers’ ability and even her potential, it is best to look at her background, even in her genes.

Her father Derek starred at Arroyo High of El Monte, where he graduated from in 1988. He was part of the boys’ team known as “The Fab Four,” which won the first CIF State championship in 1987 when Derek Powers was a senior.

Melanie’s mother, Vanessa (the former Maldonado) was a standout runner at Wilson High in Hacienda Heights, where she set a few track records. Melanie eclipsed her mother’s fastest 1,500-meter mark (a school record of 5 minutes, 21 seconds), finishing in 5:15 as a freshman.

“With my running background and her mother’s, she had some natural talent because of that,” said Derek Powers, who now lives in North Dakota but keeps in touch with Melanie. “I try not to overstep my bounds because I know Coach Sumner is a good coach. I just tell her positive things, that she can run out front. I know she has the talent to do it. I think she’s making a breakthrough this year.”

Vanessa and Derek met in high school. They still run, Vanessa for fun and Derek stays competitive as he is planning to try the Masters circuit within two years. That running blood flows through Melanie.

She’s been showing as much in her junior year at Corona del Mar.

Last week, she won the Pacific Coast League Cluster meet in 18:05.57 at Mason Park in Irvine. She then ended the week with a greater feat, winning the girls’ Division III race at the Central Park Invitational in Huntington Beach on Oct. 4.

She finished in 18:29 and helped the Sea Kings post the fastest team time of the day for all five divisions.

That has given CdM a confidence boost, since the Sea Kings were expected by most to be in rebuilding mode with top runners Shelby Buckley and Alison Damon having graduated this past spring.

“The thing we’ve been missing is a front runner,” Sumner said. “We have runners who can run with any team’s fifth runner. I’ve told the girls, ‘Every one has to run 15-20 seconds faster or we need a front runner.’ … She has the talent to be that runner, but we just [have] to make her tougher. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens when she goes out to the front.

“She doesn’t like pressure, but she could be it.”

Melanie doesn’t even like all the physical toll that comes from running long distance. But she’s aware that she’s a natural fit for cross-country.

Her mother put her through different sports during her childhood, but somehow the kid with the blessed feet kept on course toward running.

When Melanie was in the second grade, the elementary school principal approached Vanessa asking her if her children would compete for the school’s team. The kids haven’t stopped running since, she said.

“I don’t push it,” said Vanessa, who divorced when Melanie was 2, but has since remarried. “I tried every sport with the girls. Soccer. Basketball. But they wanted running. They tried dancing and cheerleading and everything. But it was always running.”

Ashley, 14, is a freshman who runs for CdM’s junior varsity team and Raquel, 9, plans to eventually compete. They moved to Newport Beach from Costa Mesa because the air quality near the beach was recommended by a doctor for Ashley’s dealings with asthma. Vanessa’s husband, Fred, also took a job in Orange County, so the relocation was a natural fit for the family.

Melanie knows all too well about a natural fit. She’s never felt pressure from her family, but there’s pressure within the CdM girls’ cross-country team.

She knows she can become the Sea Kings’ next top runner. Time’s not a factor because it seems as if it’s expected for her next race.

“Sometimes I do feel pressure,” Melanie said. “But I try not to think about it.”

She just keeps running.

MELANIE POWERS

Hometown: Hacienda Heights

Born: Aug. 13, 1992

Height: 5-foot-5

Sport: Cross country

Coach: Bill Sumner

Favorite food: Pasta

Favorite movie: “The Notebook”

Favorite athletic moment: “When I was a freshman, the first time I ran at [Mt. San Antonio College] I ran a 19:28 and no one did that at my old school, Wilson of Hacienda Heights.”

Week in review: The junior won two races, including the Central Park Invitational Division III girls’ race in 18:29 on Oct. 4. She also won the Pacific Coast League Cluster meet in 18:05.57 on Oct. 2.

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at [email protected].