On Oct. 8, Nevada Union cross-country runner Shannon Lingo opted to travel with her team to the Clovis Invitational rather than taking the SAT.

Her coach, Sara Freitas, called that dedication.

Lingo said she simply wanted to run.

"I just wanted to help my team," she said. "I'm still going to take (the SAT)."

Lingo has been dedicated to helping her team since she joined the Miners four years ago. Last season, she led her team in sub-sections with her fifth-place finish, and she took 13th at the section championship.

Now a senior, 17-year-old Lingo wasn't always the team's No. 1 runner. She came onto the NU cross-country squad as a freshman with only a few years of experience in her legs, having started running as a sixth-grader at Lyman Gilmore Middle School.

"My best friend was doing it, so I wanted to try it," Lingo said. "I tried it, and I just kept doing it."

Despite the fact that Shawnee Putman, the friend who originally inspired her to run, no longer even lives in California, Lingo's running routine might rival that of Forrest Gump.</body>Shannon Lingo</caption><photo></photo></image></paragraph>

She's been nearing record runs at nearly every venue she's seen, including this Saturday's course in Frogtown at Angels Camp, where last year she came within one second of the record for any Miner runner.

Although she hopes to edge last year's time of 19 minutes, five seconds for the 5-kilometer course, it's the Nov. 13 Sac-Joaquin Section championship at Folsom High School where she really hopes to excel.

"I'm going to try to run better," Lingo said. "But I'd rather run my best at Folsom - that's Sections."

Freitas has all the confidence in her top runner that a coach can hope to have, and it shows.

"She's out there leading the way," Freitas said. "And that's good, because most other teams have a front runner like her."

Freitas, who has coached Lingo in all four years at NU, is thankful to have had someone to lead her 18-girl team.

"The kids really key off her in races, and that's a really positive thing," she said.

Having coached her all four years, she has been able not only to help her grow as a runner, but she's been able to step back and watch her as she progressed.

"She's always been extremely determined," Freitas said. "That's always been her driving force, even as a freshman.

"As a freshman, she didn't start out as the No. 1 runner on our team. But she's worked her way up to that point. She's settled into a level of maturity where she's able to race against pretty high-caliber competition, and do it successfully."

Whether or not Lingo has settled, both she and Freitas say there's a lot more running in her future.

"My first goal is to get a (cross-country) scholarship to a four-year college," Lingo said.

On her list of schools she hopes she'll be attending come next fall are UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis and University of Nevada at Reno.

"She's so driven," Freitas says. "She knows that running is part of her future, and she's willing to make sacrifices along the way.

She's already getting recognition ... something will definitely happen for her."

Assuming she finds herself in a college classroom next year, running isn't all she'll be focusing on.

Although her plans have changed frequently, as many prep athletes' plans tend to do, her focus of study has remained relatively close to sports, with sports science and sports psychology topping the list of her desired majors.

But Lingo says her thoughts, for the most part, are still on the rest of this season, not whether she'll be an Aggie, Gaucho, or a member of the Wolfpack.

This year has already brought prosperity for Lingo, as Freitas says she has really hit her stride in this, her senior, campaign.

"She's had a very good season as far as racing against competition," Freitas said. "In the past, she's been on the fringe of performing with the best runners from other teams ... this year she's there."

Although Lingo is now beyond the fringe of top performers, there is still plenty of work to be done: Competing in sub-sections, sections, and hopefully the state championship.

And finally taking that SAT.

Oh, and the reason she put that test off last month - that race at Clovis - just so happened to see her run a season-best time of 19:40.