There is nothing ordinary about Alyssa Ito.
The Hollister native has already run three half-marathons, with a personal-best time of 1 hour, 45 minutes.
And she just turned 13.
Ito, who recently completed the seventh grade at Spring Grove, isn’t even sure she’ll compete in a running sport once she attends San Benito High.
Say what?
“Well I don’t think I’ll run cross country because it’s during volleyball season, and I don’t think I’ll do track because it’s during softball season,” Ito said.
That’s right, even though Ito can out-run all of her friends—and for that matter, most adults—there’s an outside chance that she might not try out for the Haybalers’ cross country or track and field teams.
That’s because as of now she ranks baseball—more on that in a second—and basketball as her favorite sports, followed by volleyball and running.
Ito recently made the Hollister American Little League 11-12 All-Star team—she’s still eligible to play on the team because of the Little League calendar—for the second straight year.
Even though her best time of 1:45 in a half-marathon puts her in the top five percent of her age category nationally, Ito ranks making the all-star team last year as her greatest athletic accomplishment.
She also plays club basketball and mixes in volleyball when she has time. Ito loves baseball—she’s a second baseman but also pitches—because she has been around the game her entire life.
With a father and two older brothers, Ito started playing baseball at 3 or 4. Ito eventually took up softball as well, but the last time she played the sport was three years ago.
“I’m looking forward to playing softball in high school, but I’ve had so much fun playing baseball all these years that I’ve never wanted to switch over,” she said.
During the regular season, Ito pitched for the Rangers of Hollister Little League’s Majors Division. A strong fielder, Ito received plenty of time on the mound for the first time in her career this past season.
Ito throws a fastball and a curve, and relies more on location than velocity.
“I don’t throw hard, but I throw with control,” she said.
Although she’s a girl in a boys’ game, Ito said all of her teammates treat her well, so she doesn’t feel like an outsider. Plus, she’s a pretty good player, and coaches aren’t going to select a girl for an all-star team—especially at the 11-12 age group—unless they believe that player is fully capable of helping the team from a competitive aspect.
Ito receives plenty of great advice from her father, Scott, who has offered plenty of useful tips to his daughter over the years.
“When I’m having a hard time hitting, he fixes the problem,” she said. “When I’m taking batting practice, he’ll record and then study my swing and tell me what I need to do. It’s pretty cool to have a dad like that.”
Ito said she has an equally cool aunt in Traci Mitchell, a San Jose resident who has run multiple marathons, including Boston. Ito said Mitchell’s best time over 26.2 miles is 3 hours, 8 minutes, and she’s continually inspired by her aunt’s performances.
Since Ito has a number of things vying for time, she doesn’t run on a daily basis. She’ll usually start training for a race—her next one is the Disneyland half-marathon in late August—two months before the event.
“I don’t love running, but I like it,” she said. “It’s alright. I usually train alone or my friend will ride her bike next to me as I run.”
In addition to being athletic and fast, Ito excels in the classroom, having never once received a B—a record she would like to keep intact all the way through high school.
Soft-spoken but incredibly mature for her age, Ito tackles school or athletic tasks with a ferocity that belies her age.
Maybe that’s why Ito’s future seemingly that has no limit. If Ito continues to run and stay injury-free, there’s no telling how far she can go in running.
“I’d like to run a marathon some day,” she said. “It seems really long, but I’d like to do it.”
Something says Ito will do just that, in a time that will impress.
