Kapaun Mt. Carmel girls cross country team believes its found recipe for state success
Led by a senior and a pair of promising young runners, the Kapaun Mt. Carmel girls cross country team has goals of coming away with a team trophy from the state meet this season.
Kapaun senior Addie Curtis is no stranger to hardware as a 3-time state qualifier in cross country and multiple state medals as a distance runner on the track.
Entering the Class 5A regional hosted by Bishop Carroll at Brown Thrush Park on Saturday morning, Curtis has been among the top runners this season once again for the Crusaders.
“Addie is a very hard worker and very mentally strong,” Kapaun coach Gretchen Bina said. “She’s always willing to put in the work and had a great offseason once again for us. She’s one of those runners who is willing to do whatever it takes all year-round to be successful.”
Joining Curtis near the front of every race has been freshman Taylor Barringer, who has been a pleasant surprise to Bina because she had never run in a cross country race before this season.
She finished 15th in the Crimson division race at Rim Rock and her season-best, 5-kilometer time of 19 minutes, 44 seconds puts her well in contention for medals the final two weeks of the season.
“Taylor is brand new to distance running and she comes from a gymnastics background,” Bina said. “She decided to give it a try and joined us in the summer and she’s had some really good success already. She looked really good in the summer and we were excited to see her race. She’s a very strong racer and strong mentally, so that’s been fun to watch.”
Another strong runner has been sophomore Amelia Hermann, who has carried over the momentum from the spring when she was a state qualifier in Class 5A in the 3200-meter race. She has routinely been running near the same times as Barringer and Curtis, giving Kapaun three runners cracking the top-15 of races on a consistent basis.
With three low scores to work with, Kapaun’s team success could come down to if runners like Ella Porter, Madeline Hermann, Jackie Ackerman, Lydia Scheck or Alannah Wilhelm can move up and provide a solid No. 4 and No. 5 score for the Crusaders.
“We’ve been able to qualify our team for the last three years, so we hope to do that again and finish in the top-6,” Bina said. “But I really do think we have a chance to possibly sneak on the podium this year. That would be great. We have a great group of girls who really have worked hard and they’ve gelled together. I think there’s a good chance we do some really great things.”
Kansas high school cross country regional meet schedule
Date: Saturday, Oct. 22
Class 6A at Warner Park in Manhattan: girls at 10 a.m., boys at 10:40.
Class 6A at 4-Mile Creek Resort in Augusta: girls at 10 a.m., boys at 10:40.
Class 5A at Lake Barton in Great Bend: girls at 10 a.m., boys at 10:40.
Class 5A at Brown Thrush Park in Wichita: boys at 10 a.m., girls at 10:40.
Class 4A at Lakeview Recreation Area in Chanute: girls at 10 a.m., boys at 10:40.
Class 4A at McPherson College: girls at 10 a.m., boys at 10:40.
Class 4A at Stateland Course in Topeka: girls at 10:30 a.m., boys at 11:15.
Class 3A at Canning Creek Cove in Council Grove: girls at 11 a.m., boys at 11:40.
Class 3A at Fredonia Golf Club: girls at 10 a.m., boys at 10:45.
Class 2A at Tallgrass National Prairie Reserve in Strong City: girls at 11 a.m., boys at 11:40.
Class 1A at Brown Thrush Park in Wichita: girls at 11:20 a.m., boys at 12 p.m.
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