When it comes to competitive running, sophomore CharLee Linton does whatever it takes to out run her opponent.

Whether running in a state qualifier meet while battling the flu and still managing to cross the finish line, or proving a college coach wrong about her ability to run at WSU, Linton will never slow down.

This competitive attitude started for CharLee while growing up in Shoreline. She said her parents always supported her in sports. Her father Todd ran in high school, and her older brother R.J. played football and soccer. CharLee’s father even encouraged his wife Cathy to run.

CharLee said her father has pushed her in her running career, and she can always hear him during races.

“He never has to ask ‘did you hear me’,” she said.

But before Linton heard the loud cheers of her father for competitive running, she played soccer as her main sport.

“I just stuck with that,” CharLee said.

In middle school she did try out for the track team, but she was never serious about it. After posting one of the best results in a fitness test at school, CharLee realized she had speed.

Once CharLee attended Shorewood High School, an older girl on the cross country team approached CharLee and encouraged her to attend a practice.

“That’s when I decided to drop soccer and go with running,” CharLee said.

CharLee’s first cross country practice resulted in an eight mile run, which most new comers would struggle with, but she managed to run the whole distance.

According to WSUCougars.com, CharLee finished in 37th  place in the Nike Pre-National Meet during her sophomore year of high school and finished in 21st place at the Washington 3A State Championships her junior year. CharLee also earned first-team All-Western Conference her junior year and unfortunately did not compete in cross country her senior year due to injury. Still, she was elected captain of the team.

After a well-earned career at Shorewood High School, CharLee set her sights on running for WSU. However, after talking with a college coach, she was convinced she wasn’t fast enough to run for the Crimson and Gray.

Then, WSU contacted CharLee and offered her a spot on the roster.

“I was so stoked because I never thought I could run here,” she said. “When I talked to the coach from WSU and he told me to come on the team I was really excited.”

CharLee has taken full advantage of the opportunity of running for the Cougars and is willing to help out the team anyway she can.

She said her goal this year is to finish in the top five on her team and help make a difference at the Pac-12 championships.

With the season officially starting up, CharLee said she is excited to get back to running competitively and is especially looking forward to this weekend’s race in Seattle. Since it is the first 6K meet of the year, it will be a longer course to run.

CharLee is only a sophomore, so she still is exploring her options on what career to pursue. Running competitively after college seems unlikely, but it is still uncertain, she said. She has interest in the fields of business or psychology.

While working toward her goal, CharLee is enjoying her experience here at WSU by growing closer to her teammates and training hard.

“I love being here,” she said. “Pretty much my friends here at WSU are my teammates. I love being pushed by them.”