Born in Phoenix, Arizona, she took up running as a high school athlete at Mountain Pointe High School and had her first successes at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, where she was the runner-up at the state-level event in 1997 and 1998 before going on to win the title in 1999. She was chosen for the United States junior team at the 1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and in her first international outing she placed 73rd overall. Later that year she ran in the 3000 meters at the 1999 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships and beat Madai Pérez to win the title.