Top sprinter Amanda Foley signs with Griz

A shake of the arms and legs, a few warm-up jumps, and some deep, calming breathes. Amanda Foley does that same routine each race before settling into her starting block.

Foley knows she’s trained hard — taking “bonus” laps in the rain after school, pushing herself when no one is watching. Physically, she’s primed and ready to compete with the best in the state. Mentally, she’s played this game long enough to know it’s all about staying cool and confident as the starter begins his cadence.

“On your mark, set...”

Foley rises to her finger tips and coils back into her blocks.

“Bang!”

Like a cork blasting out of a shaken champagne bottle, the 5-foot, 3-inch senior bursts off the line. Within 10 meters she’s in a full stride. By the time she crosses the finish line, she’s almost always in front.

“It’s beautiful to watch her run,” says Whitefish track coach Derek Schulz.

And it is. Foley is having a career defining season on the track, and she’s making it look easy along the way. She’s already qualified for state in the 100, 200 and 300 hurdles, and with the 400 and 1,600 relay teams. Her eyes are set on qualifying in the 400 as well as the long jump.

Count them all up, and that’s seven events she could potentially compete in at the state meet this spring.

Foley has been turning heads since she was a freshman when she took fourth at state in the 100 meter dash. She’s built on that success each season, taking third in the 100 and fourth in the 200 and 400 at state last year.

Foley chalks up much of her progress to having sophomore sprinter Marlow Schulz as a training partner.

“It all started last year when Marlow came onto the team,” she said. “As soon as I had someone else as driven as me, I started to train even harder.”

The two have built a strong bond that is evident both on race day and during training sessions.

Last Thursday, Foley and Schulz stayed late after practice with distance coaches Bill and Sara Brist as a cold rain soaked the track. The two went stride for stride in 200 and 400 repeats, each lap faster than the last. Nearly 30 minutes after everyone else had left the track, Brist asked them if they wanted a “bonus” lap — one more for good measure.

Without hesitation, they put down their heads and took off.

“If you’re not tired at the end of a workout, you know you could have gone harder,” Foley said after the workout, still trying to catch her breath 10 minutes into this interview. “I know that when it hurts, it’s going to pay off in the end.”

While Foley has worked hard to build up her speed, she admits some of her athleticism comes from her mother, Sallie Foley, who was also a standout at Whitefish High School. Sallie held the school long jump record for about 20 years.

“Yeah, some of it is genetics,” Foley said.

The Foleys moved back to Whitefish from Chicago in 2002 when Amanda was in second grade. Her career as a Bulldog has been everything she’s hoped for.

“I love my coaches and teammates,” Foley said.

Foley recently signed to run with the University of Montana on an athletic scholarship. She is thinking about studying marketing and business, or film and TV.

“[The scholarship] has given me even more motivation this season,” she said.

Her personal-bests this year are a 12.51 in the 100, 25.7 in the 200, 59.7 in the 400, and a 40.66 in the 300 hurdles.

Foley hopes to lower those times at state, but it’s a team win that she says is the ultimate goal. The Lady Bulldogs took second last year and Foley thinks they have a shot at taking the top trophy from the defending champs in Corvallis.

“After getting second at state last year, we’re hungry for that championship,” she said.

When she lines up in that starting block at state, on the biggest stage of her prep career, you can bet Foley will be ready to do her part.

“It all comes down to that one race,” she said smiling, as if she was picturing herself going through her pre-race warm up routine one last time in a Bulldog jersey. “Your down in your blocks — there’s so much adrenaline and you feel like you want to sprint out as fast as you can.”

On your mark, set — catch Foley if you can.