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Amaris Tyynismaa AL story - 2014 - DyeStat

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DyeStat.com   Nov 19th 2014, 10:46pm
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Amaris Tyynismaa already fastest in Alabama

 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor


Eighth grader Amaris Tyynismaa may not be very well known in running circles outside of Alabama, but her talent emerged in a big way this fall.


Tyynismaa (pronounced Ty-nis-ma, it's Finnish) ran for Montgomery Catholic and quickly asserted herself as the top runner in the state. On Nov. 8 at the Oakville Indian Mounds Park, Tyynismaa smashed Carmen Carlos' 2011 state meet course record by completing the 5,000-meter course in 17 minutes, 3 seconds.


Alabama is one of about a dozen states where younger students are allowed to run on high school cross country teams, but Tyynismaa is not eligible this year to run at Foot Locker South and her coach said Tuesday they hadn't decided about whether to pursue NXN Southeast.


Regardless, the 5-foot-4, 90-pounder is a runner who may make a big impact over the next four and a half years on the high school scene.


"She is unique in a certain way," Montgomery coach John Terino said. "She's very focused and very driven and has some incredible physical gifts."


Tyynismaa competed in August at the AAU Junior Olympic Games in Des Moines and won the 13-year-old girls 3,000 meters in 10:23.78.


So her talent on the track was already known.


"I wasn't sure how much she could progress," Terino said. "But she is all muscle. And once she got used to training, and by no means do we train as hard as other teams do, (racing) became more of a challenge of mental focus because she was so far in front of everybody."


What she was younger, it has been reported, Tyynismaa was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome, which causes uncontrollable movements or sounds called "tics." However, Terino said that Tyynismaa has developmentally outgrown the condition for the most part. And running has become an outlet that focuses her energy.


Tyynismaa began the season at a twilight meet. It was a big invitational and Terino was hoping that his new runner would have some competition.


But it lasted only a mile. Then she pulled away from everybody.


By the third meet, word had gotten out about Tyynismaa and Terino noticed the interest people had in seeing the new prodigy run. She posted a time that would have won the boys race.


That's something else that has caught people's attention. Much like Allie Ostrander in Alaska, Tyynismaa's performances stack up really well against the boys of her state. Out of the 860 or so boys who qualified for the Alabama state championships (six races separated by classification), only 68 were faster than Tyynismaa.


Tyynismaa practices with the boys at Montgomery Cathlolic.


"She doesn't like to get beat by them," Terino said.


Tyynismaa's work ethic, and her example, is making a difference on her cross country team.


"She has made a huge difference for her teammates," Terino said. "They look at her and see the talent, but she is so much more than that in so many ways. Everybody who meets Amaris really likes her."



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