For most athletes, it’s rare to begin a sport and excel in it in just a few years. But senior Axelle Allanic is not like most. In only four years, she morphed from a novice to a key contributor of the varsity girls cross country team. This spring, she also landed a commitment to the University of California, Santa Barbara for its cross country and track program.
All this from an athlete who took up running as a second choice freshman year.
“I was actually trying to make the volleyball team,” Axelle said. “I had never really run before or played a really running-heavy sport like soccer.”
When she didn’t make the volleyball team, she continued with cross country instead. Initially, she struggled to keep up.
“I remember my first day of cross country summer training, I showed up and I had no idea what we were doing,” Axelle said. “I went for a 2-mile run with some seniors and I remember feeling like I wasn’t able to run. I was like, ‘How am I gonna do this?’”
Axelle credits her success to her motivation to improve, which comes from her teammates.
“The biggest part of it is the community and the friends you make,” Axelle said. “The team is so great, and having people to run and chit chat with every day really makes it worthwhile and makes you fall in love with the sport.”
From the beginning, her teammates and coaches noticed her positive attitude, which uplifted everyone around her.
“She would always text me ‘great race’ or if I did bad, ‘you’ll get them next time,’” junior Sam Witteles said. “She’s the sweetest person ever, and she’s so happy and supportive.”
Sam recalls one memory at a cross country meet that exemplified Axelle’s leadership and character.
“A few years ago at the Clovis invitational when we were both on JV, it was super hot, and all of us were complaining how awful the race would be,” Sam said. “Instead of complaining, Axelle was so positive and helped coordinate our team so we had tons of ice packs and wash rags. She ended up finishing second which helped us win JV.”
Former Coach Steph MacKenzie echoed that sentiment.
“From the first day, even as a freshman, she had this contagious positivity,” MacKenzie said. “She didn’t start out as the best runner, but she had the best attitude which elevated not only her but the people around her.”
By her junior year, through sheer persistence and hard work, she climbed her way to the top of the varsity team — she started rank 13 but soon made it to the top squad.
“She’d latch onto the back of the varsity pack and just hang on,” MacKenzie said. “She went from not even being in the top 10 to finishing third at the state meet. It was incredible.”
“My work was really starting to show in my junior year,” Axelle said. “I was really intentional about my training, and especially about my recovery, which helped me get to the top of the team.”
Her dedication and constant commitment to improve herself was especially noticeable to others around her.
“She listens to everything you say and takes it in,” Mackenzie said. “The way that she learns and applies herself caused her to progress until she kept getting better.”
“Axelle is insane,” Sam said. “It’s really hard to stay after practice to stretch out and consistently do core when it’s already so late and you have homework to do, but Axelle always does it with a positive attitude.”
After leading the varsity girls her junior year, Axelle began the recruitment process the next summer. However, the offers really started flowing in at the end of her senior year, when she led Los Altos to win States Championship. Eventually, Axelle decided to stay in California and go to a UC, ultimately choosing a walk-on spot at UCSB.
UCSB offered Axelle what she was looking for: A team with a great community, a beautiful campus, and a spot studying biology at its prestigious College of Creative Studies. There, she can begin researching as early as her first quarter.
“The team is so great, and when I went to visit them, they were so nice and supportive,” Axelle said. “One of the distance coaches at UCSB used to coach at Los Altos and the other went to Gunn High School. They both know my two coaches right now, and those little connections just made UCSB feel right.”
From a freshman who struggled to run 2 miles to becoming a committed athlete, Axelle has made great strides in her running journey.
“I never thought I’d be a college runner,” Axelle said. “I just wanted to find a sport. I’ve learned you just have to show up, work hard, and trust the process. Everything else falls into place.”
