Funahashi makes difference for CdM

During the summer, Kristina Funahashi did as she was told and wrote her goals for the upcoming cross country season.

When Corona del Mar High Coach Bill Sumner saw what she turned in, he did not approve.

“This is ridiculous,” Sumner told her. “I don’t want you to think this.”

At camp with the Sea Kings, Funahashi wrote that she wanted to be among the team’s top 10, maybe be an alternate again at the season-ending state meet.

Sumner said she could finish in the Sea Kings’ top five.

“I’m not really sure what he saw in me in the beginning, but he has believed in me this whole time,” Funahashi said. “He’s told me to be confident and set my goals higher. The second he told me that I could, I started to believe him and that’s really when I started to improve.”

Simply put, Funahashi is not the same girl who showed up to camp during the summer. She’s also totally different from the runner who went along for the ride to Fresno last year.

This season, Funahashi was in the spotlight. This time around, a state championship was much sweeter. The senior came across the finish line as the difference-maker. The Sea Kings needed her best Saturday and she provided, breaking through with a personal-best performance. Her seventh-place finish helped CdM capture its second straight CIF State Division III title and seventh overall, tied for the most in the meet’s history.

Sumner enjoyed watching Funahashi’s improvement over the past year.

“There wasn’t a certain point when she improved,” Sumner said. “It was gradual confidence building. You could see it just coming. It wasn’t instant. It was very gradual.”

Just for Funahashi to gain interest in running was a slow process. She first competed in cross country last year. Initially her dreams belonged on the tennis court. But she ditched the racquet and laced up her running shoes.

Initially she wasn’t sure about cross country. It was surprising that she had to run so much. But after a few more runs, she fell in love with the feeling of pushing her body to the limit.

When Corona del Mar finished second to Orange Lutheran at the CIF Southern Section Division III meet Nov. 21, Funahashi became more motivated to push even harder the next week in Fresno. The Sea Kings had won five straight section titles and then became an underdog at the state meet. Funahashi was ready to shock the Lancers.

“I have never been so anxious in my life,” she said. “I have never wanted anything this badly.”

Maybe it was because of her passion that Funahashi started the race so quickly. She even surprised herself with such a fast pace. But she toned it down, yet kept her eyes on a few Orange Lutheran girls and came across in 18 minutes 18 seconds.

“I really just focused, kept my head in the game and in that last mile I just gave it everything I had,” said Funahashi, who enjoyed the improvement she made over the past year. “This year is definitely sweeter for me because I didn’t compete last year. Last year I was an alternate for the state meet. I saw our team win and I remember thinking, ‘This is really great.’ But then this year when I actually competed and I was actually part of the race, I really felt a real part of the victory.”

Funahashi’s season didn’t end in Fresno. It actually ends Saturday. She left with the Sea Kings Thursday to compete in the Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Ore.