Newport Harbor senior Paige Tennison has confirmed that she has committed to run next season at UCLA.

“I am absolutely ecstatic with my recent commitment to UCLA,” Tennison said in an email. “The first time I went on campus I had a pretty good feeling that UCLA was where I wanted to go, and after my official visit, I knew that UCLA was 100 percent the place for me.”

Tennison, a two-time first team all-county runner, was also named the Register’s 2012 Cross Country Runner of the Year after blossoming into one of the state’s top runners. She became the first county runner since former Woodbridge star Christine Babcock (2006-07) to repeat as sweepstakes champion at the Orange County Championships.

Tennison won the Sunset League individual title and was the CIF-SS Division 2 champion.

She capped her stellar running campaign by placing fourth in Division 2 at the CIF State Cross Country Championships.

Among some of the other schools that Tennison considered were Cal and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

“There were many things I liked about both of those schools,” she said. “But in the end, they just weren’t the right place for me.”

Tennison also stated that she felt confident that the coaching staff at UCLA would help her continued development as a distance runner.

“I really trust Coach Braden and Coach Maynard and feel they can transform me into the runner I want to become in my collegiate years,” she said.

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