ALREADY PRODUCTIVE FOR HER TEAM–Rachel Brajkovich finished sixth overall at the CIFDivision VI girls’ cross country state championship at Fresno’s Woodward Park last November. She finished with a season-best time of 18 minutes, 29 seconds, helping the Regents capture their first state title. Rachel Brajkovich is the accidental long-distance runner.

For years, the La Reina High sophomoretobe focused on soccer. Then a longtime friend urged her to give cross country a try.

“She was always really, really athletic. I told her we should do the sport together,” said Keilani Phillips, who runs cross country with the Regents.

Brajkovich, 15, was hesitant about joining the team.

“My friends were doing cross country. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do it. Maybe I’ll try out next year,’” Brajkovich said.

“Keilani convinced me to do this. I’m glad she did.”

La Reina is ecstatic she joined the squad.

As a freshman who still considered herself a novice to the sport, Brajkovich finished sixth overall at the CIF-Division VI girls’ cross country state championship at Fresno’s Woodward Park last November.

She clocked in with a seasonbest time of 18 minutes, 29 seconds, helping the Regents capture their first state title.

Coaches and teammates marvel at the super sophomore’s talent.

“She was just raw as a freshman. She had no experience,” said La Reina head coach Robert Lopez. “She’s coming along faster than we’d been expecting.”

Phillips, who has known Brajkovich since they were 2, said her teammate is vital to the Regents.

“She is very crucial to the team. I don’t think we would have had all the success if she hadn’t joined,” Phillips said. “She’s a great element on the team. It’s important to have someone on the team who is so positive.”

The scary part for opponents is that Brajkovich can only get faster.

“Last year, I was just going along with it,” she said. “I was having fun running as fast as I could. But I didn’t know exactly what was going on or how to race.”

La Reina returns five of its fastest runners from 2008, including Brajkovich.

Sarah Pearson, Tara Blanchard, Mary Thompson and Katie Kavetsky will be seniors this fall for the Regents.

Brajkovich is looking forward to the upcoming season, and she’s working hard to learn the subtleties of the sport.

“I love running, and I love being on our team,” she said. “I enjoy going to races and being competitive. Races are a great time to bond with teammates.

“Races are demanding but fun. Sometimes it’s painful; sometimes it’s fun. All your senses are going crazy because all this stuff is happening. It’s exhausting, but at the same time it’s a unique feeling.”

Brajkovich enjoyed winning a state crown as a freshman but said the accomplishment was more significant because it was a group effort.

“The fun part is we did it together as a team, and leading up to it we had fun all the time,” the long-distance runner said.

This year the Regents started practicing in July and have been running six days a week. Their first race is Fri., Sept. 11 at the Seaside Invitational at San Buenaventura State Beach.

Brajkovich didn’t seem too concerned with individual goals—and didn’t make any promises about La Reina repeating as state champs.

“We have high hopes for this season,” the modest star said. “It will be fun to test our limits.”

She did admit that she would like to earn a top-five finish at the state meet and improve her times for every race.

The Thousand Oaks resident attributes much of her success in cross country to soccer, which she has played for eight years.

Brajkovich was a defender and midfielder for La Reina’s soccer squad last season but isn’t sure if she’ll play on the pitch this winter.

She also competes on the track team in the spring. Last year she excelled at the 1,600-meter race (5:04) and the 3,200 (11:15).

The runner said Pearson, La Reina’s top cross country athlete, was instrumental in developing her skills.

“She pushed me at every practice,” Brajkovich said. “She helped me improve and made me an intense runner.”

The daughter of Tom and Rita Brajkovich, the Regent comes from an athletic family.

Her sister, Kelsea, 18, earned a scholarship to play soccer at the University of Washington. Another sister, 12-year-old Ariana, also plays soccer.

Her father was a quarterback at Redwood High in Marin County and later played linebacker for UCLA’s football team.

Lopez, who’s entering his 12th season at La Reina, is looking forward to the future with Brajkovich leading the pack.

“She’s extremely smart. That coupled with her athleticism makes her a dangerous athlete,” Lopez said. “Even on her bad days, she can still find something positive and move forward.

“If she continues to do things the way she’s doing them now, and if we monitor her progress, I think she’ll be one of the best runners we’ve ever had at La Reina.”