8th Grade Runner at Montgomery Catholic becoming Cross Country Star
The fastest 8th grade cross country runner in the country lives right here in Montgomery.
13-year-old Amaris Tyynismaa started running cross country just one year ago and is now dominating the sport, breaking state records.
Just one year ago, Amaris Tyynismaa was a soccer player, when she decided to give running a try. Fast forward to present day and the 13-year-old is making national headlines for her record-breaking cross country times. Just this month, she broke the Alabama High School Athletic Association record at the state cross country meet by 16 seconds. It was a 5k and her time was 17:03.
“I knew that it was I think 17:18:19, something like that and so when I saw that I was under 17:10, I was actually really shocked and extremely excited and happy.”
And Tyynisma isn’t just the fastest 8th grader in the state, she’s the fastest in the country. She says she wants to run long term, first in college, then on an international level.
“When I was younger, I wanted to be like an all-star and go to the Olympics for soccer but as I started running and continued it, I kind of decided that I do want to go to the Olympics. That’s a big goal of mine.”
“She can go as far as she wants,” says Ed Wright. “There’s no doubt about that.”
Along with cross-country, Tyynismaa runs track. Wright is her coach for track and says her discipline and talent go unmatched.
“This is my 30th year of coaching and I’ve had one other athlete that was a sprinter that was a good but not to this caliber,” he says.
But Tyynisma tells us she’s not always serious, especially at home.
“I’ll be honest, I’m not a perfect child,” she says. “My parents, obviously they’re excellent parents and also I want to be a good influence on my siblings I guess.”
So you may be asking yourself how Tyynismaa balances school and running. She does just fine. In fact, she’s actually a straight-A student. She tells us before any big race, she eats pasta or BBQ chicken pizza from Earthfare.
