Crossing the finish line with a time of 19:07.80, sophomore Campbell Harger secured the title of Regional champion and is headed to State, along with the rest of the cross country team.

Harger said she started running cross country in seventh grade because her parents had been runners. Since then, she has run every season, leading up to winning regionals last week and helping the team secure a second-place finish, plus a spot at the State meet. 

“It was a tough race. Me and an Aquinas girl kept going back and forth,” Harger said. “I ended up passing her, but it was all around just a good race, and it was my first one back after being out for five weeks.”

Heading into State, Harger said her goal is to improve her time and place higher than she did last year, where she placed 11th. She said racing is very competitive and adrenaline is abundant, trying to hold on and push forward as long and fast as possible. 

“For State, I’m just going to try to be my best, get as much sleep as I can and try to keep my practice as normal as possible and try to keep all my motions and stress under control and try to keep everything how I’ve just been doing it,” Harger said.

Throughout the season, the program has done exceedingly well, with both the boys and girls winning the Basehor Linwood Invitational, competing in the Indiana Midwest preview meet, placing at regionals and qualifying for State. Head cross country coach Aaron Ballew said the entire team is extremely hardworking and dedicated to running, which shows through their success. 

“[I’m] trying to keep them real, at this point, just trying to keep them relaxed and having fun, trying to keep their stress loads down because there’s not much we can do training-wise between now and [State],” Ballew said. “Just keep them happy, keep them healthy and keep them hungry.”

Ballew said, although exciting, there are challenges that come with racing at State. He said preparing for the terrain takes priority, and this one specifically is challenging. 

“The course, Rim Rock in Lawrence, is incredibly hilly,” Ballew said. “If you don’t first learn how to manage the course, you will get your butt kicked by that … then you can refocus on competition and actually trying to race the athletes there.”

Both boys and girls cross country will compete at State on Saturday, Nov. 1, at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas. Harger said she loves the sport and values the people it has surrounded her with, which makes competing at meets like State much more enjoyable.

“I love the team and the people that it brought me close to,” Harger said. “I feel like competing is just such a great atmosphere, and I feel like all the people in the sport that you’re racing against are genuinely such good people, and it makes it a lot more fun when everyone else around you is supporting you no matter what.”