Cross country, school, marriage, pregnancy and graduation: "I am happy that I did everything in order," said June 2009 BYU–Hawaii graduate Amanda Whitford (pictured right) with a big smile. After earning her degree in elementary education, Whitford was asked how she felt about her experience at BYU–Hawaii.
She said that BYU–Hawaii has helped her know the importance of education and going to church. She sees the school as an avenue to help bring out people's potential and that she is an example of the university doing just that.
A member of BYU–Hawaii's cross country team for four years, Whitford said her parents John and Theresa Castro, encouraged her from childhood to run and so she grew up loving to run.
Originally from San Bernardino, California, Whitford started running competitively eight years ago. She joined her high schools cross country team, and due to her outstanding abilities in running, she was made the captain of the team. While carrying the responsibility as team captain, her team placed 3rd in the annual California Interscholastic Federation (CIF).
She came to BYU–Hawaii because she was recommended by her high school coach to the coach here. During her freshman year, she joined the BYU–Hawaii cross country team and has been happy doing what she knows how to do best. "It is a lot of hard work," she said. "However, it was the best thing I did here at BYU–Hawaii beside education and marriage."
While running for BYU–Hawaii, Whitford won the Pacific West Conference championship last fall and earned All-American honors for her 18th-place finish at the NCAA II National Championships. This is Whitford's second year being honored as All-Academic. To qualify for this award, the BYU–Hawaii Seasiders cross country Web site says, "A student-athlete must have completed at least 12 semester/quarter hours through the semester of competition at the institution to be eligible. The student-athlete must have at least a 3.25 cumulative grade point average and have placed in the top 30 percent of the total number of athletes eligible to compete at the respective regional championships, or in the top 50 percent of the field at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships."
She was the only BYU–Hawaii runner to qualify for the national meet and only the third Seasider in history to do so. "Whitford was once the reigning two-time Pacific West Conference champion," says the BYU–Hawaii Web site. "She finished the difficult 5K course in 19:11 to lead the Seasiders to a second-place finish behind Division I Xavier. She completed the course 26 seconds ahead of Xavier's top finisher. Over all her performance helped the Seasiders finish ahead of the other NCAA II schools in the cross-divisional meet. She was the defending PacWest individual champion."
"She is a great young lady, always a worker, listens to instructions and always very humble," said BYU–Hawaii cross country Coach Norman Kaluhiokalani, also known as Coach K. "It was a pleasure to work with her, and I wish all runners were like her. [During] her senior year she worked hard and placed in the top five at regional, and at the national race held on a cold, snowy day in Pennsylvania; she placed 18 out of 150 young ladies. She has completed her four years of eligibility. We will miss her and her talents."
Allison Shamrell, a senior in IDD and pre-physical therapy from Gresham, Oregon, who was a roommate with Whitford at the San Diego Regionals, said, "Amanda is so driven, but very humble about how much she has accomplished."
"She reminds me of my big sister," said Donika Byng, a sophomore in psychology from Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago, who works with Amanda at the Seasider. "She is a very focused young lady who likes to help people."
BYU–Hawaii Cross Country team: Whitford (second from left) with her teammates
When Whitford was asked how she was able to balance being first and foremost a student, a cross country runner and then a wife, she said, her husband, Joe Whitford, was her support. Amanda said that Joe would wake up at 4 a.m. due to the fact that he had to go to work and because he wanted to wake her up for her practice. After practicing, she said she did her homework and then went to class. Joe stayed with her most times during practices in the evening so they could at the same time spend time together.
"I was always there when she was practicing [and] in all her games," said Joe Whitford, who is from Laie. "I made sure she ate the right food. I got her the right shoes. I made her go the extra mile of what the coaches wanted. I was her second coach."
Joe's support helped her to survive last season, which she said was challenging for her as she had to do an internship, run for the team and be a wife. During this time Joe helped her focus on her priorities.
Amanda and Joe have been married for two and a half years. She finished her cross country season last year in November and is now pregnant. But her pregnancy has not been a stumbling block for her. She's been able to do what she loves doing—being a volunteer coach for Kahuku High School's cross country team. Joe stated, "I let her do whatever she wants. I think she can handle coaching and the baby, and when she cannot, she will stop." When asked what she intends to do after graduation, she said she wants to work as a substitute teacher at Kahuku High School and start coaching full time. Laie is now her home.
--Photos courtesy of Amanda Whitford