Sarah Cocco hated running when she came to Fairview as a freshman. But when her basketball coach suggested she join the cross country team to stay in shape, Cocco became an overnight sensation.

"Well, it took awhile to get to that point," Cocco said, laughing. "But I guess that's somewhat how it happened."

Close enough for a Hollywood script, anyway. And that's where Cocco's other passion lies. She has accepted a scholarship to Southern California, where she will pursue running and acting.

The excitement in her voice is evident when she talks about moving to Los Angeles.

"It's been hard trying to do both, but next year, I'm going to USC and I'm going to major in theater, and I hope to go on lots of auditions in L.A. and get into that more," she said.

When Cocco was 5, she was offered a part in the movie Interview with the Vampire, but her mother turned it down because she considered the movie too violent.

Since then, Cocco has taken acting classes at Fairview and has done some work in acting groups outside school. She also has an agent and has done some modeling.

"Ever since I could talk, I've been playing roles from the movies and reciting entire scripts," she said.

Cocco said that, in reality, her track success didn't come easy. When she first joined the cross country team, she barely could run 3 miles. But she showed steady improvement and decided to go out for track, where she met Fairview track coach Maurice Henriques.

" 'Mo' was the first one who kind of told me that I had a future in track," she said. "He made me work hard, but I'm glad he did because last year was when I really had a breakthrough."

As a junior, Cocco won the state title in the Class 5A 800 meters and took third in the 1,600.

She followed that with a third-place finish at the state cross country meet in the fall.

She would like the script for her high school track career to finish with a big ending.

Her sights are set on four individual titles, in the 400, 800, 1,600 and 3,200. But, like a career in acting, she knows the competition will be tough. In the 800, the top five state place winners return.

"No matter what you did last year, there's always going to be people coming back who are good," she said. "There's always competition. I'm sure there will even be some surprises. You never know who is going to shine."

NOTEBOOK

• Sprinter Ashley Cruder, formerly of Eaglecrest, has transferred to George Washington, which will help make the Patriots a team-title contender. The Patriots finished third behind Smoky Hill and 5A team champion Rocky Mountain last year.

Cruder had injury problems at state last year, which resulted in a disappointing ninth-place finish in the 100 meters. But she recently finished third in the 60 meters at the Simplot Games in Idaho and should be a bigger factor at state if she can stay healthy. George Washington also has Monica Green returning after she placed third in the 400 as a junior.

• Rocky Mountain will try to defend its title behind dominating sisters Alana and Ari Curtis. Both took home first-place medals last spring as the Lobos ended Montbello's run of three consecutive titles, with Alana winning the 400 and Ari the triple jump.

• Perennial power Smoky Hill has finished fourth, third, third and second in the 5A team race the past four seasons. Could this be the Buffaloes' year to break through? Smoky Hill has a deep team, led by senior high jumper Jordan Wood, who has signed with the University of Indianapolis. The Buffaloes have transformed from a dominating distance-running team to a solid all-around program. Last year, Smoky Hill was the only school to place in every relay at state.

• Aurora Central's Learsha Jones placed in four events at state as a junior. She returns her senior year as a serious threat to win championships in the 100 and 300 hurdles. She placed sixth in both events last year. The Trojans have at least five athletes who could place at state, including transfer Kanesha Smitten, who finished seventh in the 100 as a sophomore last year in Wisconsin.

• Latraia Scott, who finished third in the 100 in Class 4A as a freshman at Sand Creek with a time of 11.89 seconds, has transferred to Palmer.

• Laura Thweatt of Durango finished in fifth place in the 1,600 last season. But Thweatt, a senior, enters this season strong after a third-place finish in the 1,600 at the Simplot Games. The 1,600 should be very competitive, with Fairview's Sarah Cocco (third) and Monarch's Kelly Waters (fourth) also returning.

• Speaking of competitive, the top five place winners in the 800 return this year, including Cocco, who won the event with a time of 2 minutes, 10.64 seconds, and Littleton's Leigh Ann Ganzar, who finished second. Ganzar recently won the 800 at the Simplot Games. Also returning is former 800 state champion Kirsten Lake from Chaparral, who won the title as a freshman in 2005 but was limited by injuries last season and didn't place in the event.

• Jacqueline Lomax of Hinkley will run for Northern Colorado next year. As a junior, Lomax was 13th in the 800 at state and 15th in the 1,600.

• Overland's Cambria Pardner, who won the state title in the long jump as a junior in 2006, will compete for Drake next year.

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