2018 Girls All Area

Katelyn Robbins is your 2018 Girls Runner of the Year

2018 Tri-State Cross Country Coaches Girls All-Area Team

Runner of the Year - Katelyn Robbins, Sr. - Liberty

When things don't go the way you had planned, you have two choices: give up, or put in your best effort and try to reverse your fortunes. 2017 was not the year that Katelyn Robbins had envisioned while on the cross country course. As a Junior, Robbins was sidelined for most of the middle of the season with an injury that kept her from running. To complicate things further, Robbins became Ill a few days before the Elmwood Sectional meet and finished a very disappointing 58th place, running 20:35, missing her 3rd straight trip to the IHSA State Meet and an opportunity to earn another All-State Medal. In a season that most consider an important recruiting season, Robbins resume suffered and the Eagles #1 runner hopes of landing a college offer hung in the balance. To complicate things more, Robbins had another medical issue at the IHSA State Track meet where she was forced to walk across the finish line of the 3200m and finished a disappointing 14th after having a solid Spring season overall.

Fast forward to the Summer of 2018. Anyone with hopes of having a strong Fall season is putting in the miles necessary to flourish, Robbins included, only to be sidelined yet again by a stress fracture in her lower leg. "The stress fracture was definitely not something we saw coming, or hoped for. In the time when you need to be running, Katelyn was forced to take time off. We didn't know how she would bounce back, so we were forced to change almost everything about her training" said Liberty Coach Jared Schmidt. Coach and athlete met at the start of cross country season after Robbins had finally be allowed to start running again, but only minimally, and laid out a plan of attack. Robbins would run when the doctors had agreed to allow her to, and cross train on a bike as much as possible when she couldn't run. "She biked over two hours a day sometimes. Other days she would get in her run and jump on the bike for an additional hour. She did everything she could possibly do and more to try and get back in racing shape. Her dedication was unmatched" said Schmidt.

Robbins sat at the first part of the 2018 Fall to gain fitness before returning to racing at the Travel Meet hosted by QND. Due to weather, that meet was shortened to 2 miles, but it provided the perfect opportunity for Katelyn to test her fitness on a challenging course. The result was a victory in 12:32 and she was ready to attack the rest of the season...and attack she did. Robbins continued to gain fitness throughout the remainder of the season while using races as barometers for where she was. She finished the 2018 season with finishes of no lower than 4th in any meet she competed in. She was 4th at the SJO Spartan Classic, and 2nd at the QHS Tom Oakley Invitational. Robbins then won the Liberty Invitational and the West Central Conference Meet running 18:44 to set herself up for the post season. Katelyn raced her way to her 1st cross country Regional championship at Liberty winning in a time of 18:29 and then placed 2nd overall in 17:50 to tie her person best time at the Elmwood Sectional losing only to reigning IHSA Individual State Champion Emma Argo of Eureka. Robbins then capped her redemption season by setting a new person best time of 17:29 at the IHSA Class 1A State Championship in Peoria to place 4th overall, earning her the best finish by any female in Liberty school history. Her 4th place finish also made Robbins the most decorated cross country runner in Liberty history and solidified her return to running after overcoming all of her setbacks in 2017 and 2018.

Since the end of cross country season, Robbins has verbally committed to run collegiate track and cross country at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL in the Fall of 2019. For her efforts on the course in the Fall of 2018, Katelyn Robbins has been named this year's Tri-State Cross Country Coaches Girls Runner of the Year.

First Team All- Area - (Alphabetical Order)

Carrie Balzer, So., Liberty - Balzer returns as an All-Area 1st teamer from 2017. She continued her successes in 2018 with top 10 finishes at every local Invitational. She placed 7th at both the QND Running Raider and QHS Tom Oakley Invitational's. She was 5th at the Liberty Invite and 4th overall at the WCC Conference meet to earn another All-Conference honor. Balzer ended 2018 with an 8th place finish at the Liberty Regional and 40th overall at the Elmwood Sectional running 19:48.

Grace Buschling, Fr., Clark County - The Clark County Freshman burst onto the scene this year in a big way. Along with many top 5 finishes throughout the season, she saved some of her best races for the end of the season. She was the CCC Conference Champion before placing 3rd at the Bowling Green District meet. In her first State meet appearance she placed 3rd overall at the Missouri State Championships.

Camy Grote, So., Bowling Green - Grote has the distinct pleasure of being a 2 time All-Area 1st teamer, and a 2 time All-State performer after a 2018 season that earned her a 15th place finish at the MO State Championships. She also racked up top finishes of 3rd at the EMO Conference meet and 6th at the Bowling Green District meet. With the graduation of Senior leader Kate Klott, look for Grote to move into the number 1 runner role heading into next season.

Zarra Humphrey, Sr., West Hancock - Finding her way onto her 3rd All-Area 1st team is no surprise for the West Hancock senior. A consistent name among the top of every local meet Humphrey placed 9th at QND, 4th at QHS, and 3rd at Liberty. She then went on to place 3rd at the WCC Conference meet and 5th at the Macomb regional before finishing her high school XC career with a 21st place finish in 19:10 at the Elmwood Sectional. Humphrey will now shift her focus to the track where she hopes to finish her career as a multiple time all-stater.

Kate Klott, Sr., Bowling Green - The most decorated runner in Bowling Green girls history, Klott added to her already lengthy resume in her final year. Strong consideration could be made for her as the runner of the year with her results from 2018. She was runner-up at the EMO Conference meet and 4th at the Bowling Green District meet before finishing runner-up at the Missouri State Meet capping an amazing four year all-state run. Klott ends her BG career with all-state XC finishes of 14th, 14th, 4th, and 2nd. An overall resume that can hardly be matched for consistency.

Lydia Kurfman, Sr., QHS - The reigning Tri-State Runner of the Year did plenty in 2018 to put herself in the discussion again. She won the WB6 opener meet to open the season before also winning the QND Running Raider and QHS Tom Oakley Invites. Kurfman finished 4th at the 3A Edwardsville Regional and 19th at the QHS Sectional meet to earn her 3rd straight trip to the IHSA State Meet where she finished 90th running 18:07. Kurfman signed her National Letter of Intent to run for Division 1 University of Memphis starting in the Fall of 2019.

Megan McMillen, Fr., Bowling Green - A vital part to Bowling Green's runner-up team finish at the Missouri State Championships, McMillen looks to step into a big role next season after placing herself among the areas best in 2018. EMO All-Conference honors where she placed 4th overall started a post season run that included 8th place at the Bowling Green District Meet before earning her 1st all-state performance where she placed 20th overall at the Missouri State Championship helping lead the lady bobcats to their highest team finish ever.

Claudia Nichols, Jr., Hannibal - For the 3rd year in a row, Nichols finds herself among the areas best on the 1st team. The leader of the Pirates program, Nichols didn't change that in 2018. She placed 8th overall at the QHS Tom Oakley Invitational where she ran 20:34 against many of the area's best. Nichols did not have the post-season she would have liked in 2018, but look for her to bounce back in 2019 to finish her high school XC career with a 4th straight 1st team appearance!

Maya Stovall, Sr., Macomb - The 2016 Tri-State Runner of the Year put together quite the resume again in 2018. Along with winning the Macomb Invitational, Stovall rattled off a handful of top 5 finishes throughout the season before heading into the post season. She was the WCC Runner-up before winning the Macomb Regional in 18:29. She placed 5th overall at the Elmwood Sectional to earn another trip to the IHSA State Championship, where she capped a stellar high school career with a 6th place finish running 17:29 to finish with a new Macomb HS school record.

Delaney Straus, Fr., Marion County - One of three freshmen to make the 1st team list, Straus made her presence known early and often in 2018. Straus earned 4th overall at the Running Raider Invite and 5th overall at QHS while racing the area's best. In 2018 Straus won five different event championships before placing 3rd overall at the Missouri Class 1 State Meet where she ran 20:25 for 5k.

All-Area Honorable Mention -

Bowling Green- Megan Kniess, Jr., Sylvia Wagner, Jr.

Clark County- Madison Kauth, Jr., Sierra Stewart, So.

Liberty- Larissa Neisen, Fr.

Macomb- Olivia Bishop, So., Khyliegh Diggs, Fr., Halle Evans, Jr.

Marion County- Olivia Wood, Fr.

Mark Twain- Zoe Miller, So.

Mendon- Sierra Miller, Sr.

Palmyra- Lauren Reid, So., Lydia Szarka, So.

QHS- Anna Schuering, Fr., Valerie Howerton, Sr.

QND- Lindsey Ayo, Sr., Ella Borrowman, Sr.

South Shelby- Meredith O'Neil, Sr.