Sage Hill’s Kate Miller stays on her path with collegiate running
Kate Miller will be going on long runs a short drive away from home.
The Sage Hill School cross-country MVP and Newport Beach resident is bound for Chapman University in Orange, where she will run track and cross-country for the Panthers while studying business administration.
She said Sage Hill allowed her to indulge her interests academically and athletically. She played tennis in youth tournaments at Newport Beach Tennis Club and then as a freshman at Sage but wanted more action, so she took up running as a sophomore.
She humbly says she’s “not that great of a runner,†but by senior year she was the cross-country team’s MVP, earned first-team all-league honors and scored a seventh-place finish in the CIF-SS Cross Country Finals for Division 5 that helped her team qualify for the state meet. Her state time was 18:39, a personal best in the 5K and the third-best in school history.
She ran the 3,200-meter (12:57 PR) and 1,600-meter (5:49 PR) in track and even dabbled in the discus. Her senior track season was cut off by the coronavirus pandemic, but she ran on her own and kept up the team’s spirits with online workouts and a newsletter where she compiled fun facts, videos and memes to keep her friends connected to running.
Honoring this year’s graduating seniors from high schools in Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Laguna Beach and other parts of Orange County.
Miller, 18, said she genuinely loves her sport, especially easy long runs.
“I don’t always love the speed work and whatnot, but you always love the feeling after,†she said.
“This always makes me feel better, it helps me sleep better, my mood is better, the people around me are more happy because I’m more happy.â€
Sunny and gracious, she said “being a consistent, reliable person that is kind to others — I think Sage really reinforces that.â€
“We had a lot of group work and community work, and you just feel like you’re kind of at home at Sage. Obviously I can’t speak for how Chapman’s gonna feel, but I would hope to have that same kind of comforting [feeling], like you feel you can do anything because no one’s judging you.â€
Lightning senior Kate Miller ran 18:54.1 to place seventh and lead Sage Hill to fifth place in the CIF Southern Section Division 5 finals on Saturday.
Miller is the daughter of Keri and Lance Miller and twin sister to Ben, who will be going to Purdue University in Indiana in the fall. She grew up in Newport, attending Newport Coast Elementary and Harbor Day schools.
Miller considered colleges throughout California — University of Redlands, University of the Pacific, Santa Clara University — before deciding she most liked the one that happened to be the closest. As a member of a smaller Division III sports program, she can emphasize the “student†part of “student-athlete.â€
She said Sage’s head cross-country coach Nate Miller — no relation — emphasizes long-term success and enjoyment in running, which she knows she can keep with her.
“All you need’s a pair of shoes and anywhere in the world, really,†she said.
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