Welcome to 2025 AHS
Head Track
Coach
Manny Evans!!!!
Interview with 2000 Alhambra graduate and cross country state medallist AMY
LOPER-RILEY!
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1. Thanks for taking time for this q&a Amy! Your first Alhambra cross country season began in the fall of 1996, your freshman year. Did you have a running background before then? How did you get involved with AHS cross country?
My brother, Rick Riley, was a varsity runner at Alhambra. He introduced me to the sport and helped train me while I was in 8th grade. He was a great runner himself and a great coach so I learned a lot before I started High School. Because of him, I was familiar with the coaches and the team so it was an easy transition to join the team as a freshman.
2. At the time, Coach Tim Bruder was guiding the running teams, along with teaching auto shop. One of the things I read in the 2000 cross country packet was Coach Bruder commenting on your training, which he described as a constant "pedal to the metal" attitude and work ethic which he had to caution against. Do you have any favorite Bruder-related memories or sayings that stuck with you?
Coach Bruder was one of the finest coaches I have met to this day. I have a lot of great memories from my time with Coach Bruder. He was a quiet man but when he spoke he would tell it like it was. I remember my sophomore year before a post season meet, he came up next to me and put his hand above my shoulder and pretended to push something heavy. He stopped and with a smile said "there, I removed the weight of the world, now go have fun and race!" Coach Bruder really knew what each individual runner needed and could adapt to help each of us.
3. While looking through past results, a common theme was teammate Jessica Neu and yourself having a close rivalry, and often ending up finishing 1-2 in numerous races (both track and cross country). How did this years-long competitiveness with Jessica factor in to your race strategies during high school?
Jessica Neu was an amazing teammate. She was the true racer out of the two of us. I pushed myself hard all the time and races were more about times than competition. Jessica was a competitor and thrived in races. We were a great pair because we were different and had different specialties. Jessica was always better than me at shorter distances, 800 and below, and I was better at the long races, 3200 and above. The 1600 was our meeting point though she could always out kick me if she was close enough. We ended up as teammates at UC Davis and she went on to be a big contributor for the Aggies, injuries took me out of racing so I became a team manager.
4. While you succeeded in running all throughout high school, including qualifying for the State championships three times, the 1998 cross country season may have been your most impressive. That fall, you won major invitationals including Stanford and Mt. SAC, and then went on to dominate the Tri-County Athletic League and division 4 girls North Coast Section races (both held at Newhall Park). At the CIF State meet in Woodward Park, you took third overall in the division 4 5k race in 18:57 - making the individual medal stand along with Jessica, who was tenth overall. Why do you think this season in particular was so successful in your high school career?
Coach Bruder could help anyone get better so the more years under his supervision the better I got. Junior year I was able to stay healthy and Jessica and I had each other to train with and push each other. I also attended Coach Hunt and Coach Searls summer camp up at Donner pass which set me up for a great season. My senior year I got injured at the beginning of the cross country season and I was close but not quite able to get back up to speed to qualify for a 4th state trip.
5. Upon graduating Alhambra, you attended UC Davis (along with Jessica Neu), and chose exercise science as your major. What led you to selecting this college and major? How did your cross country/track and field seasons play out at Davis?
UC Davis was an awesome school and a great program under Coach Sue Williams and Coach Jim Hunt. I loved running there but my body disagreed with me. I was not used to being a small fish in a big pond and didn't know how to handle the change. Mentally it was very hard for me to try to compete at such a high level and physically my body could not handle the over training I was putting myself through. I red shirted my freshman year and then after too many injuries I switched over to being the team manager. The coaches taught me a lot about coaching and logistics of recruiting and running meets which helped me in my career as a high school coach. I started coaching after college at a small private school for grades 7-12. I assisted with the high schoolers and created a program for the middle schoolers.
6. Eventually you decided to move north up to Washington state, and wound up coaching at Todd Beamer High. How/when did you decide on moving two states away? What were some of your coaching successes while at Todd Beamer?
I moved to Washington with my husband when he got a job with Alaska Airlines. I helped coach at a small private school the first year I moved up to Washington and then in the fall of 2008 I got an assistant coaching position at Todd Beamer High School, a large public school in an urban setting that was started in 2003. The head coach Scott Haines was amazing and I learned a lot from him and we worked together really well to develop our young school's program. I had the privilege to coach at Beamer for 15 years and was able to work with some amazing athletes and great people. When I started at Beamer there were some very talented girls so my first year I got to go to state with 2 individuals for their first but not last visits to state. At that point in 2008 only 1 athlete had ever made it to state from our school in the 4 years since they opened. In 2010 we had our first male state qualifier and in 2011 we got our first boys team to state. In 2012 we got our first girls team to state. I remember my first male athlete, Austing Jex, to break 16 in a 5k in 2014 which seemed like such a big barrier and the joy of his achievement. I remember the pride I felt in my athlete Ashley Mason when she beat my 3200 record in 2015. In 2017 I had the privilege of watching my senior athlete, AJ Chopra, have his best season with never placing lower than 3rd all season and placing 3rd at the state meet with a 15:15 which was a 23 second pr for him. He is the only state podium finisher at state that Beamer ever had. One of the joys of being at one school for so long is seeing athletes believe they can achieve something that nobody has done at that school before and being there to celebrate with them when they achieve their goal.
7. As of now, you are coaching for Fife High school alongside Mike Chapman. What inspires you to continue coaching the newer generations of athletes?
The Fife school district is my home district and where my daughter goes to school. Todd Beamer had some great coaches in place that worked at the school so I was able to move to Fife and coach at the school where my daughter will be attending in a few years. It has been amazing to coach and serve within my community. Working in a small school district, more similar to Alhambra, has its advantages. I have been able to create more continuity and connections with the younger generations by volunteering with my high school team at the middle school and elementary levels. It has been great the last 2.5 years at Fife working with Mike Chapman to continue to develop the program and work with some amazing athletes. Cross Country and Track & Field athletes really are the cream of the crop and some of the best young people out there.
8. As a former legendary Alhambra runner, what advice do you have for current and future aspiring Bulldog distance runners?
Listen to your coaches and believe in the program that they have created. It is easy to get caught up these days in all the different ways to train, but the best way is to be consistent with one method and believe in what you are doing. It is too easy to overtrain and get injured when you are trying to do multiple methods. Keep it simple and fun. Knowing what kind of runner you are and what your motivations are can be very helpful in with mental strategy of racing and training. Believe that records are breakable and you are capable of more than you think. Being part of a team is more than running together. They are your community and will make you a better person and in return you will make them better people. Cross country and Track & field teams are some of the best groups of people you will have a chance to be a part of, so enjoy it and contribute the best you can. My fellow Bulldog teammates taught me so much about life and others and helped me become who I am. They are still some of the most important friends in my life.
POSTED!
(See 2025 track schedule page)
