ON THE MOVE—Newbury Park’s Shannon Byrne is one of the county’s best 1,600 runners. IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers At every practice and race, Shannon Byrne strives to get faster and faster.

The Newbury Park High track and field standout knows that there will be pain along the way. But adrenaline and perseverance keep her going.

“Distance running is not about talent. You have to come out your hardest at races and practice and give everything,” Byrne said.

“It’s about testing boundaries and seeing how far you can push yourself. You realize your body is so much stronger than you thought it was. It’s about break- ing down so many walls.”

The junior long-distance runner has been breaking plenty of walls while winning in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter races.

Byrne, 16, clocked the 1,600—her favorite event—in a season-best 5 minutes, 16 seconds at a league meet last week at Westlake. The Panther notched her personal record in the 1,600 during the 2009 Marmonte League championships, finishing third overall in 5:11.

IN IT TO WIN IT—Panther junior track star Shannon Byrne won a taekwondo world title in 2003. She spent eight years competing in the sport. IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers That performance was the best for any sophomore in school history. She wants to break five minutes this year for the NPHS mark for juniors in the event.

The Newbury Park record in the 1,600 is 4:44 by Denise Ball Dearborn, a Ventura County Sports Hall of Famer.

Byrne actually met Dearborn at Rio Mesa High’s Spartan Relays last weekend.

“I was star struck,” Byrne admitted. “She’s really cool.”

When asked if she wants to break Dearborn’s mark in the 1,600, Byrne laughed and said it wasn’t on her mind at all.

Byrne credited distance coach Marty Maciel for helping improve her gait and conditioning.

“He changed the sport for me,” the junior said. “This year, my form is a lot better. He fixed it. He lengthened my stride. He got my arms swinging straight instead of across my body.”

She also praised first-year head coach Jenny Kenyon.

Kenyon, a 1998 NPHS graduate, spent the previous seven years assisting at DePaul and UC Santa Barbara.

“Shannon’s just a competitor,” said Kenyon, a heptathlon standout at the University of Oregon. “You know when she’s out on the track she goes out there to win.”

Byrne, a strong cross country runner, excels outside the oval.

The junior with a 4.3 gradepoint average takes International Baccalaureate classes in English and psychology, and honors courses in U.S. history, government-economics, statistics and physics.

She’s a volunteer Sunday school teacher for kindergartners and first graders at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Thousand Oaks.

Byrne spent 10 years in gymnastics and eight years competing in taekwondo, where she earned a world title in 2003 in Little Rock, Ark.

Her mother, Shirley, is also a runner while her father, Mark, has competed in baseball, wrestling and lacrosse.

Her brother, Jonathan, will be a freshman at Newbury Park next year, and is definitely an up-andcomer to watch. Byrne said her brother runs the 400 in 56 seconds.

The junior Panther is looking forward to the rest of the season and beyond. She knows what it takes to succeed, and it’s worth the hard work, she said.

“There have been practices where I’d walk off crying. It hurt so badly from how hard I was pushing myself,” Byrne said.

“In distance running, you get back what you put in.”

Other Panthers on the prowl

Sisters Morgan and Megan Thompson also generate points galore for the Panthers.

The twins compete in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Against Thousand Oaks in late March, the juniors each finished first or second in the 100, 200 and 400 races.

“We’re coming together as a team,” said Megan Thompson, who wants to qualify for state in the 100 and 4x100 relay.

Morgan Thompson said she and her sister inspire each other.

“We go back and forth,” she said. “We definitely push ourselves.”

Amy Galipeau, a senior, is another versatile athlete with the potential to compete in the heptathlon. Jasmine Polk is a solid thrower and triple jump threat.

Sophomores Kailani Fadiculanan, Lyndsey Preston and Shayda Ansari are enjoying strong seasons.

Fadiculanan has improved every outing in the 100 and 200 sprints. Preston is a solid hurdler and sprinter. Kenyon described Ansari as a “workhorse” who thrives in the 400.

Among the Newbury Park boys, Sean Grumney is a top-20 caliber distance runner in the 800 and 1,600. Talmage Jones’ strength is in the 3,200.

Senior Erik Mueller, who also played soccer, is 0.6 seconds away from establishing a school record in the 400, Kenyon said.

Pat Smith has improved his shot put by three feet.