Michaela Reynolds is determined to get back what was once hers.
For the first time in a long time, the senior, Emporia High cross country runner finally feels strong, prepared, and most importantly, healthy.
And because of that, she believes she’s poised to get back on top of the Kansas Class 5A cross country mountain, a spot she held after winning the State title two years ago as a sophomore.
It’s a far cry from where she was at the end of last year’s cross country season, when lingering illnesses turned what had been a season of promise into a season of overwhelming frustration.
“I want to redeem myself after having a disappointing season last year,” Reynolds said. “I feel like I’m in pretty good shape, and I hope I can put last year behind me.”
The 2006 season was supposed to be the filler in the State title sandwich for Reynolds. In her mind, and in the mind of her coach, Mark Stanbrough, Reynolds had the chance to repeat as the Class 5A State champion in cross country, which would have put Reynolds in position to bookend her senior year with a three-peat.
Her numbers proved she was more than capable. Just two races into her junior season, Reynolds set a new personal best by a whopping 15 seconds in the 4-kilometer run with a time of 14 minutes, 49 seconds, easily one of the top times in the state at that time.
“Last year early in the cross country season, she was one of the best runners in the state,” Stanbrough said. “She was having a great start to her season.”
But then, illness hit.
First, a case of strep throat struck, causing Reynolds to miss practice time. About a week after the strep cleared up, Reynolds said she was stricken by tonsillitis and had to have her tonsils removed midseason. The back-to-back sicknesses took their toll on Reynolds, and by the time the State meet rolled around, it had gotten to the point when even her medication was making her ill during races.
She finished a respectable 10th at State, but it was far from what she had expected of herself.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing was knowing how close she was to having another dream season like the one she put together as a sophomore.
“I wanted to double up and win State again for the second year,” she said. “It was disappointing after putting in a lot of miles and hard work over the summer and then seeing it all disappear after getting sick.”
Even worse, lingering effects of the illnesses stayed with Reynolds into the spring track season, and again, Reynolds was unable to defend another State title from her sophomore year, this time in the 3,200-meter run.
But now — finally — she is healthy. It took the entire summer to get her health back to what it had been early last fall, but there is no mistaking that Reynolds has made a comeback with a vengeance, Stanbrough said.
“She is so determined,” Stanbrough said. “We wasn’t up to 100 percent last year in terms of health, and she’s very determined to come back and run like she did when she was a sophomore — and run like she was early in the year last year.”
Through two races this season, she has produced times nearly equal to those she was running at the beginning of last season before the sicknesses. At the opening meet of the season in Manhattan, she ran a 14:57. This past weekend at Emporia’s home invitational, she finished in a time of 14:56. Both races produced second-place finishes to Manhattan’s Marley Crusch, widely considered the top runner in Class 6A.
“I’ve felt pretty good so far,” Reynolds said Saturday. “I’ve recovered a lot, and I’m excited to get to some of the bigger races to see how everything pans out.”
It appears then that Reynolds has re-established herself as one of 5A’s premier runners. She’s likely to become the second Emporia High girl in a year to sign an athletic scholarship with a Division-I university — Layne Moore now competes at Missouri. Reynolds said she is considering four schools: Kansas, Kansas State, Northwestern and Rice.
But before all that, Reynolds is determined to get back all of what was once hers.
She has her health. Now, she wants her title back.
“I’ve gotten it all back (health-wise),” Reynolds said. “Hopefully, I’ll do well in the races.”