Summit standout named Gatorade’s Oregon XC Runner of Year — again

(Update: adding comments from Fiona Max, coaches)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Fiona Max is a unique athlete with a unique story. She joined the cross-country team at Summit High School as a sophomore. Just three seasons later, she's already been crowned Gatorade's Oregon Girls Cross-Country Runner of the Year -- twice.

"To think back to freshman year, I didn't even know what running was," Max told NewsChannel 21 Thursday.

Not exactly what you'd expect to hear from the award-winner. Now, she's built quite the resume: State champion three years in a row, while setting an all-time meet record at state last year, Oxford Classic winner, Northwest Classic winner, Warner Pacific Classic winner, and earned All-American honors.

"It takes a village," Max said about the amount of work she's put in to get to this point. "Supportive friends, insanely good coaches, and a team that is willing to get out there every day. That energy is so important."

Max has only enhanced the championship tradition for cross-country at Summit. They've now won 12 straight state titles, the last two of which have come after the Bend school moved up into the 6A classification.

On the team is her twin sister, Isabel. Max said she's 20 minutes older than Isabel, and never lets her sister forget it. That's just a glimpse into their competitive relationship, one which Max said pushes her to be great.

"It's an intensely good dynamic and also really holds you accountable for workouts and you always have that scale, you know,” she said.

Max’s coaches said they knew she was a special athlete before she joined the team. Still, they agreed there's one area in particular where Max has grown.

"Trusting the coaches more,” said Carol McLatchie, head coach of Summit’s cross-country teams. “Listening to them more."

Jim McLatchie, a volunteer coach on the teams, added, "She listens. Took a while, but she listens."

The trophy that bears Max’s name sure makes it seem like all that listening has paid off. Max, though, said it's not about receiving the award that's meaningful to her. Rather, it's about what the award allows her to give.

Winning the award means Max has the opportunity to give a $1,000 grant to a youth sports organization of her choice. For the second year in a row, she'll be donating to the Girls Gotta Run Foundation in Ethiopia.

"What they do is help women in Ethiopia just harness the power they have as runners,” Max. “That's kind of what it means to me."

Max's pursuit of excellence goes beyond the world of cross-country. She's a talented Nordic skier, a singer, a guitar player, co-editor of the Summit’s award-winning newspaper, and has a 4.05 GPA. She’ll be attending Princeton University in the fall, where she will compete in cross-country and track and field.

The busy schedule "almost helps you have a better relationship with running, because you can always -- it's not the end all be all, different layers of the onion, and it just keeps things interesting," Max said.

Certainly a promising future lies ahead for Fiona Max, but it's one she said she has not thought about much.

"I don't know what it holds, but I definitely just want to always have a good relationship with running, even if it's just like between dropping the kids off or something," Max said with a laugh.

Before she thinks about her future, Max said she has to focus on ending her running career at Summit on a high note. That means reclaiming the state championship with the track and field team in the spring.