By Robbie Loeb

Amy Weissenbach ’12, a two-time California state track and field champion and national high school federation record holder for 800-meters, has committed to Stanford, the Harvard-Westlake Athletic Department announced Friday afternoon.

“At Stanford, I can do everything I want to do,” Weissenbach said in the school’s press release. “I can grow and be challenged intellectually as well as fulfill my potential in track.”

“It’s a great school academically and it’s somewhere where I feel like I can go as far as I want to in any field that I may decide to go into,” she said. “They have a fabulous team and a really fabulous coaching staff and I felt really comfortable when I was there and I felt that I could really see myself fitting in.”

Weissenbach went on her official visit to the school’s campus in Palo Alto, Calif. over the weekend before she announced her commitment. She went on an unofficial visit last year, and over the summer she attended track camps there.

“At the end of my visit to Stanford, I just felt confident that I knew where I wanted to go,” Weissenbach said.

The champion runner has also made official visits to Yale and Princeton.

“I’ve been talking to my parents about my thought process for the last couple of months and I’ve been in contact with a number of different coaches,” Weissenbach said. “Ultimately, between those three schools, it came down to my gut feeling that that was where I wanted to go.”

“I’m excited about being at a place where I can be around lots of interesting people who are really passionate about what they do,” she added. “It seems like everybody I know at Stanford is really passionate about something and is really great at something. I’m excited about being a part of a team that’s so amazing because there are so many great track athletes on the team. There’s so many successful people in all different areas, and I think that will be an exciting energy to have on campus.”

Weissenbach will run for both track and cross-country for the Cardinal.

“Stanford is an exciting place with so many brilliant and interesting people, and I cannot wait to be part of it,” she said. ”I trust that my collegiate career will be in good hands there, and I’m thrilled to become a member of the Cardinal team.”