Many high school students spend their spare time running away from the law, but Jenny Weaver was a little different. She spent her years in high school running for it.

While attending Auburn High School in New York, Weaver (senior-elementary education) ran track and cross country under the guidance of local police captain Al Wilson. But even he was often forced to keep a restraining hand on her.

"Let's just say that Jenny, along with a couple of other leaders on the team, made life interesting," he said. "Before coaching them, I had started losing my hair. Afterwards it started turning gray."

Today, as one of the leading runners in the 1500- and 3000-meter runs, Weaver isn't turning anyone gray, but she is making her mark on the women's indoor track team. When she graduates next semester, she'll leave behind a string of impressive performances, including a freshman year appearance at the Junior World Cross Country Trials in Florida.

Running has been Weaver's obsession since she ran her first five-kilometer race as a seventh grader.

"I went with a friend of my father's," she recounted. "It was the first time I had ever run a distance like that before. I reached the finish line and just threw up."

Weaver was a star runner on a high school team that boasted three state cross country championships.

"In her years at Auburn, the cross country team was undefeated," Wilson recalled. "She really shouldered the workload on those teams."

She was not for lack of local inspiration in her high school days. Benny McIntosh, a runner for Ascics, who recently qualified for the Olympic trials in the 10,000 meter run, was a former classmate and still trains with her.

"Jenny is a special athlete," he said. "As a person, she's very outgoing and determined. She puts a lot of time into her running but is never quite satisfied with it."

Weaver will be the first to agree that her years at Penn State have not been her best as a runner.

"These last four years have been a good base for me, but I still feel I can improve," she said. "I came into this program, started running with 50 girls and I didn't know how to run like that."

She learned quickly. For as much as Weaver wants to better her times, she admitted that she has improved each year, under the supervision of Coach Teri Jordan.

"Jenny ran a personal best today," said Jordan, of Weaver's performance in last week's intrasquad meet. "We're looking for her to finish strong in Boston."

The Lady Lions upcoming meet in Boston is a proving ground for NCAAs, something Weaver is striding towards with determination.

"I'd love to go to nationals for track," she said. "I really wanted All-American for cross country, but I didn't get it. Making nationals would be a nice way to end things."