Cross Country: Hansen wants to make a State-ment
Before Corona del Mar High senior Kirsten Hansen ever broke in a pair of running shoes, before she ever worried about her mile time, she was an actor.
It began when Hansen was little, when she used to watch the “Cats” musical on repeat. Her mother, Karen Muller, got Kirsten into The Performers Academy in Laguna Woods, where she still goes a decade later.
“When I was 7, I got an agent and I started going out auditioning,” Hansen said. “I’ve been doing that ever since.”
She’s been in game shows, some short films, even a commercial for “Law and Order.” Hansen wants to study the arts at USC or UCLA, two schools that would be lucky to have her with her 4.2 weighted grade-point average, bevy of difficult Advanced Placement courses and involvement in the CdM ASB.
At this time of the year, though, Hansen’s focus lies with the CdM girls’ cross country team. More specifically, it lies in getting to the CIF State Championships meet, Nov. 29 at Woodward Park in Fresno.
The Sea Kings have missed the meet the last two years, after making it 22 years in a row. Last year there were tears after CdM finished 10th at the CIF Southern Section Division 3 finals at Mt. San Antonio College; only the top seven automatically qualify for Fresno.
This year, Hansen made green bracelets for the team. The bracelet has two phrases, “State or Bust” and “CdM Grit.”
“It’s just for us to keep our eye on the prize at all times,” Hansen said. “When we look down and see it, we think of the team and we think of those years we didn’t make it. It motivates us to get there this year.”
Coach Bill Sumner knows he has a solid No. 1 runner in Hansen, who won two Pacific Coast League cluster meets last month. The second one, at Mason Park, Hansen won in a personal-best time of 17 minutes, 24 seconds.
Hansen was ninth individually at Friday’s Pacific Coast League finals at Irvine Regional Park, finishing in 18:24 and helping the Sea Kings win the league title.
But the great thing is that Hansen has lots of help on the deep Sea Kings. On any given day, anyone can step up. On Friday it was fellow senior Tess St. Geme, who finished second individually at league finals. Raquel Powers came in eighth in 18:22, followed by junior Jacqueline Choe in 10th and senior Elin Wolker in 12th.
CdM is ranked No. 4 in CIF Southern Section Division 3, but the Sea Kings are taking nothing for granted in regard to making state. Not after last year.
“My goal is to try to get these kids to the state championships,” said CdM Coach Bill Sumner, in his 31st year coaching the Sea Kings. “Not for Coach Sumner, it’s not about Coach Sumner, but it’s about these kids that always come back. I’ve been doing this over 30 years. These kids come back, and they remember the state meet, what they did at the state meet, how it felt. All of them talk about the state meet, no matter what place they got.
“These kids didn’t get that experience. We went 22 years in a row, then we didn’t make it. That kind of sent a message, this isn’t automatic. You don’t get to go just because you’re Corona del Mar. So [last] year, they said, ‘We’re going this year for sure.’ In their attitude, they were going to the state championships. In their work ethic, they kind of thought it was a slam dunk, and it [wasn’t]. The difference is the attitude and the focus.”
Sumner has seen that individually in Hansen, who started running during middle school at Harbor Day School. It was easy to understand why, as her older brothers, Eric and Scott, both ran at Mater Dei.
Hansen was part of the CdM varsity team in 2011, the last time CdM sent to state. She knows the prestige of a program like CdM, which won the state title as recently as 2009, which was the program’s seventh state title.
“It’s pretty intimidating and motivating, to know that CdM’s been such a running power,” Hansen said. “To break that streak [of making the CIF State Meet], that really just sucked. It reflected poorly on our year, that we couldn’t keep up with the CdM legacy. We’re just trying to bring back the CdM legacy.”
Every year is different. Sumner knows that this year he doesn’t have a runner like Tess’ older sister, Annie St. Geme, or a Shelby Buckley or Sarah Cummings.
He doesn’t care.
“If you have five or six girls that will all work together, and all of them are better than average or good, you’re going to get great results,” he said. “You give me six good kids, I’ll get you great results. We don’t have a blue-chipper on this team.”
He did say that Hansen has the most tenacity on the team this year. She has worked hard on her mental focus while on the course.
Sumner does wonder about the juggling she has to do, with all of her commitments.
“She’s got like 10 things on her plate,” Sumner said. “Good grades, acting classes, ASB, homecoming. I don’t like to say this too much, but I think Corona del Mar kids, especially my cross country runners, are a little guilty of doing too many things. If they’re guilty of anything, they’re guilty of doing too many things. As long as they do it well, I don’t have a problem. But if they start sputtering, I really point it out to them, ‘You might want to look at what you’ve got on your plate.’
“It’s still high school. This isn’t medical school. This is just high school. Cross country, at the end of the day, we work really hard. I mean, we were running 50, 55 miles a week during the summer. We work really hard, but I still want to have fun. Somebody’s going to say, ‘What’s fun about 55 miles?’ Well, when you do it with your friends through the canyon, through the creek, along the beach, it can be fun. We make it fun.”
Hansen is still having fun. She has shown she can excel in many areas. On the course, she is more focused.
“Mentally, I think I’ve progressed a lot,” Hansen said. “I’m just more focused and more determined, and I’m more strategic in my running. I don’t go out too fast anymore. I really listen to what coach tells me, and I follow through. I’ve realized after four years that if you just listen to what coach says and you do it, you will get what you want. You will go where you want to go.
“It only took four years,” she added with a laugh.
Hansen, the actor, is reaching the closing credits of her high school career, starting with the CIF Southern Section Division 3 preliminaries at Mt. SAC on Saturday.
She hopes for a happy ending.
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Kirsten Hansen
Born: March 31, 1997
Hometown: Newport Beach
Height: 5-foot-2
Sport: Cross country
Year: Senior
Coach: Bill Sumner
Favorite food: Sushi
Favorite movie: “Inception”
Favorite athletic moment: Winning the freshman Division 3 race at the Woodbridge Invitational in 2011.
Week in review: Hansen won the Pacific Coast League cluster meet Oct. 30 at Mason Park, finishing in a personal-best time of 17:24.
