Cross Country: Lowe leads Lightning
Sage Hill School sophomore Julia Lowe is used to people mispronouncing her last name.
It’s pronounced “Lau,” not “Low.” But it’s also not exactly a subject that Lowe is sensitive about.
“My family, we don’t really correct people as much anymore,” she said. “Sometimes I don’t even notice it. Everybody says, ‘Low.’”
Just call her Julia.
Make sure you also call her the best girls’ cross country runner to come along in years for the Lightning.
Lowe has earned that title with her times this year. At the Orange County Championships four weeks ago, she clocked in at 18 minutes, 58 seconds, the second-fastest time in program history behind only Cait Williamson (class of 2009).
Lowe was at it again last week at the same course, Irvine Regional Park. She won the Academy League individual title in 19:05, helping the Sage girls finish a strong second as a team behind Crean Lutheran.
“I was in the pack in the beginning,” Lowe said of her winning race. “After the first mile or so, I broke away and ended up going a little bit farther ahead of everybody else. I think that added up to giving me a lot of adrenaline too. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh!’”
The Lightning race Saturday at 9:18 a.m. in the CIF Southern Section Division 5 preliminaries at Mt. San Antonio College. They are two races away from the CIF State Championships, a meet they haven’t advanced to since Williamson graduated.
Lowe, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, just might be the person to help Sage get back to Fresno.
“She was definitely strong as a freshman,” Coach Nate Miller said. “She made an immediate impact. This year, she’s gained a lot of confidence. She’s just been a different runner. She’s much more confident, more willing to push herself to her limits. She’s made the effort to challenge herself every race.”
Lowe opened eyes at the Woodbridge Invitational near the beginning of the season, running a 19:02, a time that surprised both her and her coach. It was about a minute faster than they expected.
“I was just hoping to break 20 by a little bit, break my PR [of 20:21],” Lowe said. “I wasn’t expecting to go anywhere close to beating 19.”
A good athlete, Lowe has shown that she can excel. Soccer is actually the sport that she’s been playing longer. It’s another one that she plays varsity for Sage Hill, helping the Lightning reach the Division 5 quarterfinals last year as a freshman outside midfielder and outside defender.
Lowe plays club soccer for West Coast FC. She goes to practices on Tuesday and Thursday, even during the cross country season. She has learned to juggle both sports.
In cross country, she has clearly emerged. Last year and at the beginning of this year, Lowe said she was just trying to keep up with teammate Brittany Andressoo, one of three seniors in the top seven runners along with Rebecca Fudge and Brittany Murphy.
But Andressoo, a top runner for the Lightning a year ago, has been slowed by a foot injury for much of this season. Now Lowe has been stepping up for the Lightning.
Miller said she has broken the Sage sophomore girls’ team record in every meet so far. She went from finishing fourth at the first league cluster meet to winning the second.
“Based on the times, we kind of saw that it was possible,” Lowe said humbly. “But having never won a meet before, I wasn’t exactly expecting to do that.”
She also has learned to deal with expectations that come with being a standout.
When she crossed the finish line first at league finals, Lowe joined Katie McKeon (2005) and Williamson (2006-08) as Sage girls to win a league title. Lowe said she has met Williamson once, when she came back to Sage for summer running, but doesn’t know her too well. But she doesn’t mind being named in the same breath as Williamson, who went on to run for two years at Columbia University.
“I think it helps me more, because I’m excited to see what I’ll do in the next two years also,” Lowe said.
What she can do in the immediate future is help Sage get back to the state meet. At preliminaries, the Lightning will likely need to finish as a top-five finish in their 15-team heat to advance to the Division 5 finals, back at Mt. SAC on Nov. 22. At that meet, they would need to place top seven in Division 5 to advance to state.
Last year, Sage finished 15th in the Division 5 finals race. Lowe was the Lightning’s top runner, placing 29th in 20:31.
Sage is currently ranked No. 13 in Division 5 by PrepCalTrack.com. Even if the Lightning don’t make it to state as a team, Miller likes Lowe’s chances to advance as an individual.
“It’s certainly exciting as a coach to know you’re going to have her for two more years,” said Miller, who also has one junior, another sophomore and one freshman in his top seven runners. “It really bodes well for our team’s future.”
The future for Sage Hill cross country could include more Lowes. Julia’s younger sisters, Olivia (eighth grade) and Sofia (sixth grade), both play soccer. But Julia is trying to get them into cross country too.
“I’ve already started convincing my sister Olivia to do it,” Julia Lowe said. “She’s going to come with me in the summer next year [to practice], I think.”
Maybe eventually people will even say their last name right.
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Julia Lowe
Born: Sept. 27, 1999
Hometown: Ladera Ranch
Height: 5-foot-6
Sport: Cross country
Year: Sophomore
Coach: Nate Miller
Favorite food: Pasta
Favorite movie: “Harry Potter” series
Favorite athletic moment: Winning the Academy League individual championship last week.
Week in review: Lowe ran 19:05 at Academy League finals Nov. 4 at Irvine Regional Park, winning the girls’ individual title and helping the Lightning team place second.
