ND girls cross country team wins second place

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- On the back of the purple Notre Dame cross country team shirts is a simple message, written in white.

"We > Me."

It's a mantra the team has embraced and one that seemed appropriate at Saturday's Class 3 state cross country meet at Oak Hill Golf Center.

The Notre Dame girls team took second place with only one runner finishing in the top 32. The team solidified its score with four finishers in the top 40 and finished with 120 points, 15 more than first-place Kearney.

"It's all about team," coach Bill Davis said. "Us is always greater than the individual."

But as the team embraces an all-for-one, one-for-all mentality, there is one runner whose leadership sets her apart.

Notre Dame's top finisher Saturday was junior Elizabeth Kiblinger, who took 17th place with a time of 20 minutes, 1.24 seconds. Kiblinger was asked to be a leader by example this season on a squad that features four underclassmen.

It was a move that helped the entire team perform better and become closer, Davis said.

"When we said, 'Just get on Elizabeth's heels and try to with stay with her,' they did," Davis said. "Next thing you know, we're developing this unity."

Kiblinger embraced her role and espoused the virtues of a team-first mentality.

"Nobody's off by themselves hoping that they do better," said Kiblinger, whose time was the fastest ever run by a Notre Dame girl at the state meet. "It's just all about the team."

It doesn't hurt that Kiblinger has shown talent on the running trails, too. Davis said he has let Kiblinger loose the last couple weeks, knowing that the next group of two or three Notre Dame runners will be bunched close behind her. Such a concentration of runners helps cut down on team scores.

Kiblinger's work ethic makes her a model for her teammates.

"Every workout is done to the letter," Davis said. "She does every workout hard. She does everything just right."

As Kiblinger's belief in herself grew, so did that of her teammates, Davis said.

"She became a believer in what she could do and she spread that to the other teammates and they grew in that respect, too," Davis said.

Kiblinger finished 41st in last year's state meet with a time of 22:02. She found herself back again this year, but this time with her team as well.

"Last year I came out as an individual, but this year it was so much more rewarding to have a team behind me," she said.

Kiblinger displayed stamina coming down to the finish line Saturday.

"Coming up that last hill I was dead, but I guess I had a little bit in me to sprint at the end," Kiblinger said.

In the final results Kiblinger was followed by freshman Elsie Anderson in 33rd place (20:37.28), freshman Maddie Baumgart in 36th place (20:45.64) and sophomore Breanna Conklin in 40th place (20:50.94).

Senior Ashley Schmittzehe (86th place; 21:49. 38) rounded out the team's scoring.