She ran.

She ran and she ran and she ran.

And she won. Boy oh boy did she win.

Chloe Huyler, a graduated senior from Lakeridge High School, ran like no Pacer before her and won like no Pacer before her.

As a senior, she became the first state cross country champion in Lakeridge history, she won her second straight state crown in the 3,000 meters and she claimed her first 6A championship in the 1,500.

Oh yeah – she also set big-school state meet records in each of those wins.

For those reasons and many more, Huyler has been selected as Lakeridge High School Athlete of the Year for the 2024-25 school year. The Athlete of the Year is awarded to the top graduated senior athlete – male or female – from Lakeridge High School.

Cross country

Huyler, 18 and a Notre Dame commit, was almost flawless in her senior cross country season. She won the Three Rivers League preview meet. She won the Meriwether CC Classic. She won The Mook XC Invite. She won the Twilight XC Invitational. She won the Pacific/TRL Crossover. She won the TRL district championship. She won the Class 6A state title with a meet-record time of 17 minutes, 11.6 seconds, and she won the NXR Northwest Regional Championship.

Indeed, the only time Huyler didn’t win was when she placed 20^th in the nation at the NXR Northwest Regional Championship.

“Just seeing how well I was able to do (as a junior) gave me a lot of confidence, knowing that if I really put in the work over the summer, my senior year could be really, really good,” Huyler said. “I think (my improvement was due to) pure fitness. I increased my mileage, but I was also more focused on it because I stopped playing soccer. I just put all my attention towards running … and I think that definitely worked out.”

“Chloe’s ability to analyze a (cross country) course and translate our practice sessions to specific parts of each course is impressive,” said Lakeridge coach Scott Spear. “To … execute that effort in race situations really set her apart.”

Huyler was great as a junior, too – she lost just once in the regular season and carried Oregon’s best time into the 6A state meet – but her 2023 campaign ended in disappointment when she had to withdraw from the state meet due to illness.

“It was pretty bad on the day (of the state meet),” Huyler said. “I know I tried my best, but I was really, really disappointed.”

But that setback, as painful as it was, set the tone for Huyler’s near-perfect senior season.

“I think it just set a fire inside of me to prove myself,” Huyler said. “I knew that (the NXR Northwest Regional Championships) was a week away and I just shifted my focus to that. I just wanted to come back for that and try to qualify for (Nike Cross Nationals), which I ended up doing.”

With her renewed focus, added mileage and increased attention to training, Huyler came back better than ever for her senior season, a season that ended with her 2024 state championship, a third-place team effort at state and her top-notch finish at nationals.

“I just put all my attention towards running (after junior year),” Huyler said, citing her team’s success at state and her win at the NXR Northwest Regional as her favorite moments. “Once I started cross country, I kind of just fell in love with running even more, so over the summer, I was just trying to put in the miles and I think that definitely worked out.”

“Chloe’s … ability to face uncertainty and stay calm has been wonderful,” Spear said. “She’s laser focused on race day – that comes from testing herself in practice and races and recognizing how she might handle things differently moving forward.”

Track

In her senior track season, Huyler was just flat dominant again.

Already the reigning TRL and state champion in the 3,000 meters, Huyler came back even better in 2025, going unbeaten in the 3,000 and setting a new record of 9:25.01 seconds at the 6A state meet.

“I wanted to PR in every single event this year, and then I really wanted to break the state record in the 3K, which I did,” she said.

“Chloe’s consistency at a high level over the past 21 months gave her the confidence to attack races in various ways, depending on her competition and their tendencies,” Spear said. “The willingness to challenge herself in this way, and maybe not race exactly how she preferred, showed a lot of trust in her preparation. It also takes a lot to strength to race that boldly.”

Huyler also broke new ground in the 1,500 during her final season as a Pacer, losing just once in the regular season, winning her first Three Rivers League crown in the event and capping her campaign with a Class 6A state championship in a state-meet record of 4:23.89.

“Obviously, I just wanted to win state and I wanted to break the record in both of the events, which I was able to do so I’m really, really happy with how it went,” Huyler said. “I don’t think it could have been gone any better. I definitely ended on a really high note.”

In addition to her incredible individual accomplishments, Huyler was also a solid teammate and leader.

“Chloe is a lead-by-example person,” Spear said. “Don’t confuse her quiet demeanor (with) a lack of caring or confidence. Chloe demonstrated her level of commitment to her teammates daily, as she was often the last person on the track during training sessions. Her confidence in herself and her teammates helped the team strive for more and showed everyone what is possible when you seek to challenge your gift and your limits.”