Last fall, Shannon Harcus was a spectator at the Western Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships in Reno, where she waved a sign and cheered on her good friend and former teammate Jordan Burke.

It wasn’t until a few weeks later that Harcus proved herself worthy of the chance to run in college. On Thursday, Harcus inked a track/cross country college scholarship, following another footstep of her running mentor.

Harcus signed with UC Davis — one of several schools to take notice after her impressive performance at the CIF State Championships in November. Harcus slashed nearly 40 seconds off of her previous personal best to take 12th place at the state meet in Fresno.

“I think my performance at state was what caused (UC Davis) to call me,” Harcus said. “I just wanted to do good because it was my last race and it’s my senior year, but it was also a plus that there were college coaches there. UC Davis was one of those schools that I said, ‘When I’m really good they’ll call me.’ And they did, so it was kind of a dream come true.”

UC Davis cross country coach Drew Wartenburg was responsible for recruiting Harcus. He said Harcus was on the Aggies’ radar throughout the fall and her performance at the state championships was confirmation of her talent.

“The state meet is the gold standard in terms of measuring performances,” Wartenburg said. “With the time she ran and where she finished, especially compared to where she was a year ago, we’re really excited as she goes into track. I think that’s a good window into her potential as a runner.”

Harcus chose Davis over Nevada and Long Beach State. She said the challenges academically and athletically were too enticing to pass up. Harcus carries a 4.2 GPA and plans on studying exercise biology.

Burke, a 2008 Placer graduate who took fifth at the WAC meet last fall, has been an inspiration for Harcus since she was a freshman with the Hillmen. The chance to run with Burke again was tempting for Harcus, but UC Davis proved to be the right fit.

“It was really hard because in the end it was between Reno, where (Burke’s) at and Davis,” Harcus said. “But I think I’ll be happy. We’ll still see each other.”

Like all college cross country runners, Harcus will also compete for the track team. Her specialty is the 1,600 meters, where her personal best is 5 minutes, 16 seconds.

Wartenburg, who serves as an assistant coach for the track squad at Davis, said Harcus is just beginning to tap into her potential and could be a major contributor for the Aggies for years to come.

“We’d like Shannon to be a potential cornerstone for our recruiting class,” Wartenburg said. “The way she’s running and talking to Placer coach Randall (Fee), he’s been around some good ones, I think people are going to say, ‘Where’d this girl come from?’”