It didn’t take long for Beaman to move to the front, and she’s held her position there over the years as one of the state’s top distance runners. By eighth grade, she was training with ‘Iolani’s varsity squad. As a freshman, she placed sixth at the state championships. As a sophomore and junior, she won the ILH championships and was the runner-up at the state meet. This past spring at the state track championships, she won the 3,000-meter run.

“I definitely think that I just try to improve every race,” Beaman said. “I go into each race thinking that this is setting the basis for improvement for next week. I probably have more bad races, bad workouts than I do good ones. When I do have the good ones, it’s very rewarding. I run for that feeling of accomplishment.”

Development in sports

Beaman turned out for cross country in seventh grade at ‘Iolani. She played some youth soccer and basketball prior to that, and felt she didn’t embody the coordination and speed for either.

“I thought running was simple enough,” Beaman said.

She attributes her improvement to assistant coach Tyler Tajima, who has been running with Beaman. She said he connects with the younger runners.

“I think he sees potential in ways other coaches might not, because I was never fast,” Beaman said. “He kind of looks at the way that younger runners run and he can tell whether they have the mental strength and mental capacity. He’s just helped me develop over the years. He doesn’t teach you everything at once. He teaches you as you go along.”

Training with the varsity squad as an eighth-grader was difficult, running alongside teammates with more strength and experience. But it prepared Beaman for races once she reached the high school level.

“I definitely had trouble during some workouts,” Beaman said. “Sometimes I would cry during the workouts. It was really tough, but it made me a stronger runner. I’m glad I had the opportunity to do that at a younger age.”

Focus factors

Mental strength factors as much into distance running as physical strength, speed and endurance. Beaman has learned to focus less on external factors and more on herself.

“I think you just have to not focus too much on your competition,” Beaman said. “I used to get caught up in: ‘She’s beating me, she’s ahead of me and I’m usually ahead of her.’ I think ultimately you’re racing the clock and racing yourself, and your competitors are there to push you to run faster times. I don’t let bad races bring me down. I just try to come back the next weekend and kind of fix my mistakes.”

As a sophomore, she finished second at the state championship to Seabury Hall’s Dakota Grossman, who capped that race as a four-time state champion. Beaman exited the race happy with her performance and surprised at her time of 18 minutes, 52.55 seconds.

As a junior, Beaman held the lead at the state championship until Kaiser junior Lisa Tashiro pulled ahead in the final stretch. Beaman, who finished in 19:11.80, learned after that race to lower her expectations and enjoy what she loves to do.

“This past year, it would’ve been nice to win,” Beaman said. “It just made me that much stronger as a runner, taught me to drop my expectations of myself, just enjoy the experience more and not get too caught up in: ‘I need to win, I need to win.’ I’ve realized it’s what I’m passionate about, so why stress over it?”

‘Iolani coach Lauran Dignam has noticed Beaman’s shift in focus.

“She’s become more focused on being more of a student of the sport, how she can improve personally,” Dignam said. “I think that’s key in this sport. It is kind of an individual sport to a certain extent, but also a team sport, so it’s good she has become very involved in her own personal successes and setting her own goals to be successful through her training.”

College looks

College coaches have noticed Beaman’s consistency and success. She attended the University of Washington’s cross country camp over the summer, training on campus and meeting runners on the team. Being able to balance academics and running will factor into her college choice. Beaman wants to major in biology and eventually attend medical school.

“Academics are my priority definitely,” Beaman said. “It’s hard to make a decision between those two things I’m passionate about, pursuing my dreams academically as well as running.”

Coach Dignam, who ran track for four years at Washington and played soccer as a graduate student at Hawaii Pacific, said Beaman’s work ethic will help her at the next level.

“Her work ethic right now would carry over very well into college,” Dignam said. “She’s extremely focused, but not only that, she takes care of herself really well as far as an athlete goes. Being a collegiate athlete, I can see her easily transitioning into that.”

THE HIGH SCHOOL TOP 10

Voted on by coaches and media statewide. First-place votes in parentheses. Ten points for first-place votes, nine for second, etc.

TOP PERFORMERS

LINEMAN OF THE WEEK
Isaac Liva, Mililani
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound senior defensive end had not played football before this season. Liva, who transferred from Hanalani, had 21⁄2 sacks on Aiea quarterback Noah Taiese in Saturday night’s 54-6 homecoming victory, and he added another tackle for loss on running back Zelius Maae-Liupaono.

BACK OF THE WEEK
Challen Faamatau, Farrington
The junior running back rushed for 236 yards on 30 carries and scored all three of the sixth-ranked Governors’ touchdowns in a 19-13 victory over previously unbeaten No. 7 Kailua. Faamatau scored on runs of 13, 1 and 51 yards.