Samantha Schadler Is Preparing To Chart Her Own Course In Arizona This Fall


While the familiar markings of one name will dot cross country courses in Arizona this fall, there will be a distinctive difference, both in physical stature and in resume, in who fans will ultimately see crossing the line in 2017.

Not surprisingly, the expectations for Samantha Schadler have never been higher than now. 

In some ways, she's a much different runner than her sister, Allie Schadler, who dominated the sport over the last four years in the state, picking up four straight championships at the 5K distance en route to signing with the University of Washington.

For much of her career, Allie was one of the nation's best. 

But then again, Samantha isn't unlike her sister, either. She enters the season as the top-ranked runner in the state, owning a personal best and U.S. No. 34 returning time of 17:09.60, a top three finish at states, and a 12th-place nod at NXN Southwest.

"We tell them, you don't have to be like anybody," said Samantha's father, Stephen Schadler, who is also her coach. "We tell her, 'Just be the best Sam you can be.' Our goal is to find out how good that's going to be." 

Running was borne into the family from a young age. Stephen ran at Stanford University, while his wife, Toni, and the girls' mother ran at Indiana University. 

Just a year after Rio Rico (AZ) High School was built in 1994, Stephen headed the program and crafted it into one of the state's most respected teams, while Toni helped coach the middle school program. After taking a hiatus in 2005 for a short term, Stephen headed back to Rio Rico in 2012 when Allie was in the eighth grade.

From the onset, Allie set high expectations in high school and ultimately hit them, winning her first Arizona Division 3 title in 2013, qualifying for the first of two NXN bids in 2014, and finishing as high as seventh at NXN in 2016 as a senior. She left Rio Rico with 15 state titles. 

Samantha, who stands about 4 inches taller than Allie and whose gait is more elegant and loping than her sister's, is headed into her junior season having won four state titles, all in track, and two of which have come in back-to-back years in the 800m. But a cross country championship still eludes her.

While the overall quantity and perhaps excellence of her sister may seem overwhelming to some, Samantha says she's never viewed their differences like that. 


"I do get asked that a lot," she said of others comparing her to Allie. "But no, I don't think I have to live up to her. I look at some of her times, but most of the time, I'm focused more on myself and proving my own times. That's a generic answer, but that's really what it is." 

The Schadler family is a tight-knit group, which also helps. Stephen says he's coached his daughters at the pace required at the specific time, which means that Samantha was never pushed to meet any kind of comparable expectations.

"(It's) one thing I'd emphasize from an early age," Stephen said. "We always emphasize with Sam, she's her own runner and person." 

Still, Samantha was impressive from the moment she hit the scene as a freshman in 2015. She recorded four times under 19 minutes and one under 18 at the Desert Twilight XC Festival -- a race that turned into one of her favorites -- producing the No. 14 fastest time as a freshman that season. She was third at the Division 3 state championships that season, and later that spring won her first state championship in the 800m. 

As a sophomore, Samantha continued charting that course when she cut her career PB by 17 seconds to 17:27.10 -- once again at Desert Twilight -- and raced for the first time at a national meet. That spring, she extended her season five weeks longer than it had ever been before, competing at The Great Southwest Classic -- she was seventh in the 800m -- and at New Balance Nationals Outdoor, where she set a PR in the 1-mile in 4:53.14.

Samantha still views her final race last fall as a bit of a setback, though. The result at NXN Southwest wasn't what she was expecting.

"I got to the starting line and just looking around made me a little scared, looking at incredibly talented people," she said. "So I ended up, I guess, in my mind it wasn't a good race for me. The place wasn't all that bad. But it wasn't what I had wanted." 

The differences between Allie and Samantha may be easier to tell in races. Stephen believes Samantha tends to be very "cerebral" in races, meaning "she wants to understand each race in its totality" before choosing when to make a move. 

She doesn't rely on her kick as much, while Allie may have been able to use that to her advantage more often -- the recent graduate had 2:08.22 speed in the 800m. 

But perhaps Samantha's junior year may be where her dominance begins to come to light like never before. She trains with the Rio Rico boys team -- the girls have fewer than five on the team, which means they won't be able to score at meets -- and has raised her offseason mileage from about 35 miles to anywhere from 40-45 miles. 

"It's not mandatory that she fills that vacancy," Stephen said of Samantha following up Allie's success. "But we're working toward continued growth."

Samantha may have the mindset of a closer, considering her favorite workout is one she did with her sister that included 400m repeats over the summer. 

"I think it's very helpful being able to step up to the line and think yourself as a competitor," Samantha said. "It takes off some added pressure that people put on you. I'm more focused on my own goals, rather than being told I have to win because everyone is expecting it from me." 

And if it's worth any consolation, Samantha has never compared herself to her sister. Ever. The pair's relationship was never combative and only grew with each passing race. Samantha says she'll "have to step it up" once her sister leaves, but that "it's only dawned on me now that she's leaving and I'm really going to miss her."

There's certainly some good to come out of it, though. 

Samantha, who hopes to qualify for NXN this year, can begin to chart her path on cross country courses. 

As a result, Arizona may soon learn of the name of another Schadler, if they hadn't known it already. 

"People ask me, 'Are you going to beat your sister?'" Samantha said. "I tell them 'No, that's not what my focus is. My focus is on improving myself.'"

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Contact National Content Producer Cory Mull at cory.mull@flosports.tv. You can tweet at him @bycorymull


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