Runner Kendra Schaaf is a timid force for Washington

Kendra Schaaf, the antidote for our loss-infested sports province, is trembling. Her knees shake constantly, like china during an earthquake. She fidgets with her hair, makes friction with her hands, rubs her elbow.

For the first time in her remarkable freshman season, the Washington cross-country star is truly uncomfortable. She has encountered the one foe she cannot outrun — attention.

A one-on-one interview makes Schaaf more nervous than a vegan at a bacon convention. Asked why, she shrugs and offers, "I don't know. I don't want to be in the spotlight. Growing up, I was taught to stay humble. I'd rather just be low key. It's less pressure."

Schaaf, afraid of pressure? She's the top runner on the top women's cross-country team in the nation. She's won three of her first four college races, and in the one she lost, coach Greg Metcalf said it was "more by design" for her to run easy and finish third in the NCAA Pre-Nationals.

"I kind of thought it would be harder," Schaaf said of her freshman season.

She is neither joking nor boasting. Schaaf speaks the way hermits open their front doors, carefully and suspiciously, hoping to creep back into her own world as soon as possible. For that reason, her talent will always overwhelm her hype, but make no mistake, she's a blossoming superstar.

The Huskies would be an elite team without her. They've shown that during this amazing fall season. They pulled off an unprecedented perfect score of 15 at the Pac-10 Championships, sweeping the top six spots, with Mel Lawrence, Christine Babcock, Anita Campbell, Katie Follett and Amanda Miller finishing behind Schaaf. They will be an overwhelming favorite to win the NCAA Championships on Nov. 24.

But for all their balance and depth, Schaaf has had a transforming impact on the program.

"She's raised the bar for our entire team," Metcalf said.

The Canadian freshman is from Saskatchewan. Some of her teammates joke about her funny phrases. She refers to a winter hat as a tuque. She calls a hooded sweatshirt a bunny hug.

There's nothing laughable about the way she trains, however. Schaaf is a most meticulous 18-year-old athlete. She is always the last one to the line at the start of practice because she spends so much time warming up. After a workout, she's always last to finish stretching, caring for her body as if she were an aging athlete trying to extend her career.

"When I go to supper after practice, everyone has already eaten by the time I get there," Schaaf said.

It seemed like she wanted to laugh after that line. It really did. But her shyness took over again.

Schaaf was a recruiting coup for Metcalf and assistant coach Kelly Strong because she always wanted to attend Wisconsin, whose cross-country tradition includes two women's national titles. Her club coach was a former Wisconsin All-American. Her dad considered a Badgers T-shirt his lucky attire when his daughter competed.

It helped the Huskies that Campbell, a fellow Canadian, has thrived at UW. In addition, Metcalf's training philosophies meshed with what Schaaf preferred. Instead of emphasizing a heavy volume of miles each week for his runners, Metcalf likes to work with his athletes to develop an individualized regimen.

Schaaf is very particular about details, from striding properly to strengthening her core muscles to stretching. It has helped her stay healthy. With her approach, she became Canada's top junior distance runner, and she's on her way to similar success in college. There's no reason for her to change her style too much.

"Her volume is about the same or a little bit less than where she was in high school," Metcalf said. "She runs about 45 to 50 miles a week. Our highest-volume runner does 70 to 80 miles. The big thing with Kendra is getting her to slow down."

Schaaf began running in fourth grade. She wanted to be a sprinter. "Everyone wants to be a sprinter," she said, with a slight smile.

Her coach told her she had the potential to be a great distance runner, so she listened to him. By the eighth grade, her talent was undeniable. She placed fifth in the Canadian Junior Cross Country Championships that year and finished in the top 10 again the next year. But in the 10th grade, Schaaf suffered the only regression of her young career. After a mediocre season, she ran 99th at those junior championships.

"I had it pretty rough," Schaaf said. "You start to mature, your body changes, and it gets harder on you for a while. When that happens to guys, they get faster and grow more muscle. Sometimes, girls gain some weight, and it's harder to get through.

"After that year, my parents asked me, 'Are you sure this is really want you want to do?' I said yeah and never looked back. It's not that I lost focus that year. I just needed to get mentally tougher."

Now look at her, nearly unbeatable in 5K events, the star of a team poised to make school history. Schaaf is capable of anything, except being invisible.

The attention may not suit her, but on a course, in the front of a pack, she's incredibly skilled at hiding it.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com. For more columns and the Extra Points blog, visit seattletimes.com/sports