Santa Cruz High middle distance runner Heidi Green missed a good portion of her senior season with an injury. Fortunately for the blossoming talent, the injury won’t mean the end of the road to her competitive career.

Green revealed on social media last week that she has accepted an offer to compete in cross country and track for NCAA Division I Santa Clara University.

“I’m excited,” Green said. “It’s somewhat close to home. I like their coach and their team. They’re big on cross-training and I’ve had some stress fractures, so that’ll be really nice for me.”

Green, a transfer from Santa Catalina School in Monterey after her sophomore year, suffered a stress fracture in her lower back in the fall and didn’t compete in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Cross Country Championships after posting a top-10 finish as a junior.The league’s defending 800-meter champion during track season last spring, Green has recovered from the injury and is closing in on her personal-best finish of 2:15.02, set during her sixth-place finish at the 2024 Central Coast Section Championships.

“She’s coming back well,” said Cardinals coach Greg Brock, noting that she has ran 2:18 in the 800 and 5:15 in the 1,600. “She should have big PRs by the end of the season.”

The 800 is Green’s favorite event. She likes the distance and speed.

Santa Clara doesn’t have a sprint team, but Green feels like she’ll benefit from that during training with the Broncos. She hopes post a top-10 mark in the 800 for the Broncos and qualify for regionals.

“I’m happy I’ve been able to bounce back,” Green said. “I’m close to the times I ran last season.”

After dealing with an exhausting commute to Santa Catalina, Green elected to transfer so she could spend more time with her family and in her community.

That decision has also benefitted her athletically. She’s being challenged every day at practice by her coach and teammates.

“It has been great running against the boys and Isla (Roake), too,” she said.

Her times improved under Brock, a former All-American distance runner at Stanford and a renowned coach for Santa Cruz since 1974.

“Heidi is an outstanding student and team leader,” Brock said. “She want to run in college and excel.”

Santa Clara initially wasn’t on Green’s radar. That changed after she made an official visit.

“I like the school and the team,” she said.

She plans to major in economics.