"Can'tcatchgenevieve" is freshman sprinter Genevieve (Genna) Settle' e-mail user name.

And 6th-year Viking head track coach Ronnye Harrison thinks that's both clever and appropriate for a runner he describes as "one of the fastest sprinters I've ever recruited here."
 
Harrison recruited the Liberian native out of Estacada High School, which, he pointed out, isn't exactly known for its sprint program.
 
"If she'd come from Benson or Summit, she'd have been highly recruited," Harrison said.
 
As it was, Settle was a four-time 4A individual state champion, winning the 200 meter state title as a sophomore and junior, the 100 meter title as a junior and 4X100 meter relay as a senior. Settle also placed second in the long jump as a junior, and second and third in the 100 and 200 meters as a senior (which, oddly enough, she chose as her high school highlight…but more on that later).
 
She also played volleyball for three years and misses the sport.
 
"There's a lot of team stuff there. I do miss volleyball, but I like the individual aspect of running.  If you're going to win championships in a team sport, everyone has to contribute. Here, it's all on you. At least for me, that's more rewarding," she said.
 
Settle began thinking about maybe running at the community college level when she was a high school sophomore and got some exploratory recruiting letters. As a junior, she upped her sites and set them on the track program at Oregon State.
 
Oregon State's track coach told her they didn't need sprinters, though, and one of her coaches at Estacada asked her if she'd be interested in Portland State. Initially, she said no, but when Harrison saw her at the 4A state meet her senior year, he was impressed enough to offer her a scholarship.
 
"I recruited Genna because she had all the physical attributes of a top-level sprinter. She's strong, powerful, very quick turnover and has that sprinter's edge," Harrison said.
 
Following a grade school softball career, Settle started running in the 8th grade.
 
"My dad really got me running. When I got a hit in softball, they called me 'cheetah' when I ran the bases" she recalled. But the early running wasn't organized. "It was more just go out and run."
 
On the Estacada High track team, Settle found herself competing with girls who came from club sports, a resource unavailable to her. The competition helped her get better fast.
 
Her senior year, she also drew interest from some smaller schools, but is glad she decided to take Harrison's offer.
 
"(Portland State) is really different. It's a lot more diverse than Estacada, which isn't very diverse. I really like it here," she said.
 
And the difference between high school and college competition? "I never threw up in high school."
 
She worked hard in high school, but "you didn't really go 100 percent. Here, it's a race every time and that really takes effort. I'm used to being at the top and I don't like to lose."
 
Still, she generally competes against herself, rather than others on the track…the exception being in practice.
 
"I'll use the competition with other girls in practice to push myself," Settle said. "There are a lot of girls on the team who are really close and we push each other."
 
Settle takes aim at her PR (personal record), every time she steps on the track. She figures that's a good way to get to the winner's circle.
 
"When I go into a race, I don't run against other runners. I'm trying to improve on my PR. If I win, I do that."
 
She tagged her senior year state meet as the highlight of her high school career, even though she came in second and third, respectively, in the 100 and 200 meters. She set a personal best in the 200, however, which she bested this year, running 24.35 in the 200-meter dash at the OSU High Performance meet, where she also beat the Beaver sprinters.
 
Pay back?  Not really, she said. But, it'll get more interesting because the two girls who beat her in that senior year state meet in high school begin running for Oregon State next fall.
 
Harrison doesn't see that as a problem, however.
 
"No one who beat her in high school will be able to beat her again. She's that talented," he predicted.
 
Besides besting her 200-meter outdoor PR (which moved Settle into 5th all-time at PSU), she's just generally had a good first year as a Viking.
 
"I've made a lot of friends. I've gotten better and stronger and I've never traveled so much. We got to go to New York and run against schools from the east coast," said Settle.
 
Plus, she also beat her PR in the indoor 60-meter dash by running 7.60 in the prelims of the Big Sky Indoor Championships, and set a new PR in the outdoor 100 meters with a time of 11.75 seconds at the OSU High Performance meet. Additionally, going into the Big Sky Outdoor Championships this weekend, Settle already ranks in the top 10 all-time at Portland State in the indoor 60 (T-7th), indoor 200 (T-7th), outdoor 100 (5th) and outdoor 200 (5th) meters, and has been part of two 4x100-meter relay teams that rank in the top 10 at the school.
 
Still, her goal on the track is just to get better.
 
"It's hard to have a specific goal because I just have the general goal of getting better. I haven't thought of running after college and I'll think about that sometime."
 
And it's not just on the track where Settle shines. She made the Big Sky Conference All Academic list during the indoor season, and is carrying a 3.84 GPA. She plans to major in social work, or a health related field.
 
Since she was adopted (her biological father was killed in the brutal Liberian civil war) by Duke and Dana Settle, who have four other children, Setttle said she wants to work with people.
 
"I'd love to work in an international adoption agency because of my own experience. I know there are a lot of kids in need out there. There's lots of stuff going on. I was given this opportunity and I'd like to give back," she said.
 
Settle's biological mother, grandmother and an uncle are still in Liberia (although an aunt who is about her age lives here) and she'd eventually like to go back…but just to visit.
 
"I know the situation in Liberia isn't very nice. It's gotten better, but it's still not very good."
 
She communicates with an uncle who has access to a computer, and communicates a couple times yearly with her mother and grandmother, who don't have one. In those cases, she has to wait for someone going over to take a letter because the Liberian postal service isn't reliable, she said.
 
Harrison described Settle as "a well-rounded student athlete." 
 
"Her teammates love her. Everything I see of her on the track, I also see in other aspects of her life. She's the fastest freshman sprinter here ever, and I think in four years she'll be the fastest sprinter here ever…and maybe in the Big Sky Conference. I'm really glad she's here."
 
Also by then, there could be a lot of people who realize that "you can't catch Genevieve".