Student Athlete of the Week – Marjourie Lopez
“She was not a natural born runner. She was a volleyball player that came out for track with her friends and she just got really inspired,” said Shadow Hills T&F head coach Richie DeTamble. “Put in all the dedication and hard work and now we are here.”
Lopez was born to run competitively. It just took a few friends and a nudge to find out.
“When they were telling me that track and field was coming up and you should try out I said, why would I want to be running that much?,” said Lopez. “And now it turns out that I’m obsessed with running.”
Obsessed might be an understatement. Since suiting up the Knights purple, Lopez has dominated in the desert. She trains like it’s her full-time job.
“I love doing extra mileage in the morning. I can’t go to school without doing three miles in the morning,” said Lopez.
How many times a week do you do that?
“Everyday. Plus, the weekends,” said Lopez. “I love treadmill running. If it’s windy I don’t care, I’ll just treadmill run. That’s something nobody knows about me is that I love treadmill running.”
“She wakes up earlier than most. Before practice and before school. Then she has practice with us. You really have to be dedicated and consistent,” said DeTamble. “And she is, and it shows.”
She’s a five-time league champion And the first female track athlete to win a CIF title in school history.
“I look at myself in the mirror and I still don’t realize it. My parents have to tell me to be proud of myself and I tell them I’m not done yet,” said Lopez. “I still want to keep on pushing. I’m never really satisfied.”
“Literally she has been running at this level for two years, where a lot of athletes have been doing it since freshman year or before. She has so much potential,” said DeTamble.
Talk about potential. Lopez running into the next level and has committed to USC.
“You have to be a good student and get good grades, but I always want to compete at the biggest level. I hope I can make it to a NCAA Championship in the future,” said Lopez.
“Our valley is so small we don’t get the respect that LA gets and bigger cities,” said DeTamble. “But we are getting the respect now. They know who we are and they know who Marjourie is.”
