Eastlake\'s Pixler has her best feet forward
By Michael Ko
Seattle Times staff reporter
JIM BATESPhotoe credit / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Jessica Pixler, a senior at Eastlake bound for Seattle Pacific, will be among favorites at state in the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter races.
Troy Anderson, the distance-running coach at Eastlake High School in Sammamish, recalls the things he first noticed about Jessica Pixler:
A fearless approach of trying to lead a race wire-to-wire.
The ability to quickly bounce back from punishing workouts.
And one of the oddest strides he has ever worked with.
Legs out in front. Torso upright and slightly leaned back. Right foot churning forward with a slightly sideways hitch. From afar, it resembles a pony\'s prance.
\"People think because she has that form, she must not have that much speed,\" Anderson says. \"She\'s got some crazy speed.\"
Funky footwork and all, Pixler, an 18-year-old senior, is one of the state\'s top girls medium- to long-distance runners. She owns the state-best time for all classifications this year in the 800-meter race (2 minutes, 12.62 seconds), is third in the 3,200 (10:35.9) and is fourth in the 1,600 (4:56.42).
Pixler swept all three events at the KingCo 4A championships last week and will be a favorite again at the Sea-King District Meet Wednesday and Friday at the Southwest Athletic Complex at Chief Sealth High School.
Born and raised in Colorado, Pixler moved to Sammamish with her family when she was 7 years old. The eldest of four children, Pixler played soccer growing up. She\'s good enough that Seattle Pacific University recruited her as a defender. She will run track and play soccer there this fall on scholarship.
Both of Pixler\'s parents, Jeff and Nancy, were competitive runners at the University of Colorado, and she has childhood memories of jogging alongside them during family vacations to the Midwest to visit relatives.
Pixler tried out for track as a ninth-grader in junior high, and ran strong enough times to attract the attention of high-school coaches at Eastlake.
That\'s when she really found her calling, her addiction.
\"I need running,\" Pixler says. \"If I can\'t run, it drives me crazy.\"
She explains the joy of being outside, in the sun or the rain, \"just running and pushing myself hard.\"
\"It\'s just a good release for stress,\" she says. \"It feels good to work hard. It feels good in a weird sort of way, when you get done with a hard workout, you feel good about yourself. A lot of times I go running before the day starts, and the rest of the day, I\'m a lot more calm.
\"Even if I\'m not feeling well, if I\'m sick, I\'ll go running because I know that afterward I\'ll feel better.\"
Not that it has been easy. Before Pixler was a title contender, she was a jittery bundle of underclassman nerves.
Eastlake head track coach Steve Jones remembers having breakfast with Pixler two years ago when she was a sophomore, the morning before her first state-championship experience — the 1,600-meter final.
She was so nervous, Jones recalls, she appeared near tears. Still, Pixler led the first two laps of the race and finished fourth.
Last year, as a junior, Pixler was again nervous, this time before the 3,200. She drank too much water and wasted too much energy during a long warmup, she says. She finished sixth. She rebounded the next day and finished third in the 1,600.
Her times have steadily improved the last few years. And Pixler\'s postseason goals are simple.
\"I\'m definitely going to run to win,\" she says.
She and her coaches haven\'t figured out exactly which races she\'ll run at the Class 4A state meet May 26-27 in Pasco.
Before a recent practice at Eastlake, Jones and Anderson talked about Pixler\'s stride. They believe it evolved from years and years of playing soccer, from the habit of dribbling the ball, from always having her feet out ready in front of her.
Pixler accepts that theory. Her form has smoothed out a lot in recent years, she says, but a lot of people still comment.
\"I\'ve been told I run like an old man,\" she laughs.
She bounds away to the afternoon training session.
\"A fast old man,\" Jones says.
Michael Ko: 206-515-5653 or mko@seattletimes.com