Meet the Griz: Chloe Torres
8/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Aug. 9, 2011
Chloe Torres, Version 2.0, could get used to this. The freshman midfielder on the Montana soccer team walks two minutes from Craig Hall to her on-campus meals. When she needs to be at South Campus Stadium for team activities, she joins her fellow freshmen for the six-minute bike ride down Arthur to South Avenue. Occasionally they'll see some cars on the road.
Chloe Torres, Version 1.0, is pure Southern Californian. She is from Arcadia, which is northeast of Los Angeles and just east of Pasadena. She is a product of her environment, and she speaks in code to give you a better idea of Arcadia's location. She lives by the 210, which for car-centric Los Angelinos would probably make perfect sense. To further clarify she mentions the 134, the 605 and the 101.
Her dad, Dave, a commercial real estate broker, has a 90-minute commute, each way, to his job in Santa Monica. Her mom, Marissa, who works for a winery, commutes to downtown Los Angeles.
Torres played for the powerful Real So Cal club program. Who knows where those practices were held.
Montana coach Mark Plakorus did more than just recruit Torres to play for the Grizzlies. He rescued her.
"Obviously in LA there is a lot of smog, there is a lot of traffic and everything is fast-paced," Torres says. "You're always on the go, and it can be stressful and annoying.
"It's a lot of commuting and a lot of time in the car, almost anywhere you want to go. It's not always fun, but it's the California lifestyle.
"I like it up here, how laid back and easygoing it is. You're in a beautiful place, you can breathe in the fresh air and everything is so much more relaxing than it is back home."
And then she gravitates toward something she can really relate to.
"There are only two lanes for traffic on the freeway here. It's nice, because that's all you need."
Torres came to Missoula last spring on her own for an official visit. Her parents did not make it up until late July, when Torres moved to Missoula prior to the start of preseason practices.
It was their first time in the state, and they left recently with feelings that matched their daugther's.
"My parents loved it," she says. "I don't think they expected it to have so much life. Honestly they were jealous that I am up here. They didn't know Montana was like this.
"The people here are just amazing. Everyone is so friendly. In LA people maybe aren't the most friendly because everyone is always on the go. It's a totally different lifestyle.
"My parents are happy for me. They can't wait to come back up here and watch some soccer."
