Jordan Hasay is an international silver medalist, the only United States high school girl ever to be one in the 1,500 meters. Hasay earned that silver at the 2007 World Youth Champions at Ostrava, Czech Republic.

She's already had the best finish for any U.S. girl in a 1,500 at the IAAF World Juniors Championships - fourth place Bydgoscz, Poland in July. And of course there was her July 4 run in the semi-finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials that got her the prep girls 1,500 national record of 4:14.50, attention from ESPN.com and front-page ink in the Los Angeles Times.

The 16-year-old Arroyo Grande resident, with the hallmark long blonde hair that cascades down her back as she runs, is a six-time national champion. Her awards haul this summer included the USA Today High School Girls Athlete of the Year, DyeStat.com Female Athlete of the Year and DyeStatCal.com Story of the Year honors.

What could motivate her for her upcoming senior year at Mission College Prep?

Plenty, actually.

For starters, “I want to win Foot Locker again,” she said in a recent phone interview. “That's definitely a big motivator.”

Hasay said, “If we all make it, there will be three Foot Locker national champions there this year. I'm not sure that has ever happened before.”

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Hasay won the Foot Locker national title in 2005 as a freshman. She was 10th as a sophomore. Kathie Kroeger of Tennessee won it then. Hasay, a co-favorite last year (one on-line site picked her to win, another picked an Ohio runner to take the title) led at the two-mile mark. Ashley Brasovan of Florida ran a big last mile, overtook Hasay and won the race. Hasay finished third, good enough for cross country All-American honors for the third consecutive year.

She had a banner sophomore track season in 2007. The national Foot Locker race was Hasay's only cross country defeat her junior year and, “That was the only thing that kept (2007) from being a 10,” she said after Lee Central Coast Newspapers selected her running exploits as the organization's 2007 Area Sports Story of the Year.

Hasay gave the year an eight.

Her 2008 summer topped anything she had done before and, “It was kind of hard to come down out of the clouds,” Hasay acknowledged. “It finally has settled down.

“We're just doing basic tempo runs,” to get ready for the cross country season, said Hasay. “Not really serious running yet.”

She chuckled. “It's back to the old grind.”

Now, she wants to become the only girl to win the Foot Locker national title as a freshman and then as a senior. Since she's trying to peak for the Foot Locker national race, “My first serious race will be at Mt. SAC,” in mid-October. Hasay said she might run at Morro Bay, her traditional season opener for a kind of training race, “But nothing else until Mt. SAC.”

She said she will skip the Clovis Invitational this year. Clovis had been her first big race the last two years.

The meet is at Woodward Park in Fresno, site of the CIF State Cross Country Meet. “I'm familiar enough with the course,” Hasay said with a laugh. She's won her division at the Clovis Invitational, and the CIF State Cross Country Meet, handily the last three years.

Hasay wants to make the U.S. team for the 2012 London Olympics - England is the birthplace of her mother, Teresa - and she figures she's had valuable experience in her run toward that dream.

These past two years, Hasay has been exposed to a big, screaming crowd on the national stage. She's also been exposed to what runners encounter plenty on the international circuit - plenty of rough racing contact and plenty of frequent flier miles.

For now, Hasay has plenty of four-peats to go after - at the Foot Locker West Regional, and the state cross country and track and field meets. She is a three-time defending state 3,200 champion and CIF State Division V cross country titleist.

“I'm not sure how fast I'll run at the Western Regional - I'll want to save something in reserve for the championship,” Hasay said. “But I definitely want to win (the regional race). The four-peats are big motivators for me.”

Hasay said she has campus visits coming up, though she didn't specify which universities. She has said Stanford, Oregon, Arizona State and Harvard are on her short list of choices but that she will consider other schools.

Since her freshman season in college will be on the horizon soon afterward, Hasay said she isn't sure she'll run internationally this summer. According to on-line meet information, Hasay will be too old to be eligible for the World Youth meet. The information said the meet will be open to athletes born in 1992 or 1993. Hasay was born in 1991.

Hasay did say that she will race at the USATF Nationals meet. She's won at the junior level there the last three years, including the 1,500 the last two.

This time, “I want to run in the open 1,500,” she said. The Open Division 1,500 race figures to have a lot of professionals in it.

Sept. 7, 2008