SM Northwest’s Molly Born is The Star’s All-Metro cross country girls runner of the year
Shawnee Mission Northwest’s Molly Born says her fifth-place finish at the Kansas cross country state meet last year as a freshman provided her an insight into her potential.
She knew that if she added a few more miles to her weekly routine, it could pay big dividends.
She was right.
A glimpse of her improvement was evident last spring during the track season, when she won the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs at the state meet. Then, during the fall, Born swept three elite cross country titles — the Sunflower League meet, her regional title and the Kansas Class 6A state championship.
For those reasons, Born is The Star’s All-Metro cross country girls runner of the year.
“After cross country season last year, I found success and that made me want to work harder,” Born said. “I did that for track and obviously got a lot better. I continued doing that over the summer. The cross country season ended pretty well.”
At the Kansas cross country state meet on Oct. 31, Born finished 31.7 seconds ahead of the second-place runner. Born finished her 3.1-mile race in 17 minutes, 58.6 seconds.
“State is something that you are going to remember for the rest of your life,” said Born, a sophomore. “You want to make it count and give it your all.”
The Star’s All-Metro cross country girls team
▪ Molly Born, Shawnee Mission Northwest, sophomore. Born, the Kansas Class 6A state champion, also won titles at the Sunflower League meet and postseason regional meet. Her winning 3.1-mile time at the state meet was 17 minutes, 58.6 seconds.
▪ Kayla Davis, Olathe East, senior. Davis, the Kansas Class 6A state runner-up, finished in the top three in each of her last three races. She placed third in the Sunflower League and regional races. Her time at state was 18 minutes, 30.3 seconds.
▪ Tori Findley, Blue Springs South, sophomore. After cruising to the Suburban Gold Conference championship, Findley won her district and sectional races. She finished third at the Missouri Class 4 meet, crossing the line in 18 minutes, 7 seconds.
▪ Rebekah Geddes, Platte County, sophomore. Geddes won the Missouri Class 4, District 8 race by 14 seconds. She used the momentum for a sixth-place finish at the state meet (18 minutes, 54 seconds), the second best finish among Kansas City-area runners.
▪ Margaret Pigott, St. Thomas Aquinas, sophomore. Pigott swept her postseason meets, finishing first in the Eastern Kansas League race, her regional meet and the Kansas Class 5A state meet. She won the state title in 18 minutes, 41.2 seconds.
▪ Olivia Sovereign, St. Thomas Aquinas, freshman. She finished second to teammate Margaret Pigott at the Eastern Kansas League meet and the Kansas Class 5A state meet, where she finished in 18 minutes, 55.3 seconds. She also helped the Saints to the Class 5A team state title.
▪ Emily Venters, Lawrence Free State, junior. After winning back-to-back state titles in her first two seasons, Venters finished third in Class 6A this season. She placed third at the Rim Rock Invitational and second in the Sunflower League meet.
This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 7:34 PM with the headline "SM Northwest’s Molly Born is The Star’s All-Metro cross country girls runner of the year."