Editor’s Note: With the coronavirus outbreak shutting down spring sports, The Republic is featuring senior athletes from Columbus East, Columbus North and Hauser whose final seasons were affected by the decision over the course of the spring.
If Kennedy Kerber was feeling down about having her senior track season canceled, Columbus North girls track coach Rick Sluder found a bright spot.
Kerber ran a personal-best 5 minutes, 34 seconds in the 1,600 meters in the second of two indoor meets this season. Since she does not plan to run competitively in college, that likely will be her final race.
“She’s going to be one of those lucky seniors whose last race was her PR,” Sluder said. “That’s one of those silver linings to this.”
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Last year, Kerber ran 5:37 on multiple occasions. Two of those times came in the sectional and regional, where she finished fifth and eighth, respectively.
So after taking three seconds off that personal record in March, Kerber was ready for the outdoor season.
“I PRed my second race, so I was really excited for the season,” Kerber said. “We trained really hard throughout the winter months. Luckily enough, we were able to go to our indoor meets before the season got canceled. Because of how our cross-country season had gone, I had really high hopes for the track season. So it was really disappointing.”
After a stress fracture kept her out of the second half of her sophomore cross-country season, and a sprained ankle slowed her for the first part of her junior cross-country season, Kerber enjoyed a healthy fall for the Bull Dogs.
She ran in the sectional and regional for a that later finished fifth in the state finals.
Kerber was one of the team captains in cross-country and had been selected as a captain in track before the season was canceled.
“We were looking for her to be one of our physical and emotional leaders,” Sluder said. “I can’t speak highly enough of what she did for the team. I think she has had a wonderful career at North. If we have continued success, I’m going to look back at what she did for us. Some girls are really good leaders, but her performance and leadership both were outstanding. That’s what made her so special for us.”
Kerber plans to attend Grand Valley State in Allendale, Michigan, and major in nursing. Her brother Jackson plays golf at Davenport University, which is in nearby Grand Rapids.
“They have a really great nursing program (at Grand Valley State), and my brother said, ‘You should come up and take a look at it,’” she said.
Kennedy said she might join the running club at the school.
“I had always thought about (running for a college team) throughout my entire high school career, but I decided I needed to run for myself and not for a school anymore,” she said.
Looking back, Kennedy is proud of what she was able to do both on and off the track.
“I was really happy with what I accomplished,” she said. “I was happy with my times and with all the friendships that I gained through cross-country and track that I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
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Q: Can you describe how you felt when you heard that your season was canceled?
"I was really upset. I was a little heartbroken. We were preparing if it wouldn’t happen, but I had hope for there to be some sort of season in some form, so I was really heartbroken that my senior season was taken away from me."
Q: What is your best memory with the program?
"I’ve loved team camp. I’m not much of a camp person, and I said I will only go camping for North cross-country. But those weeks have been so fun."
Q: What will you miss most about your school and team?
"The people and the coaches. I had such great relationships with my coaches and my teammates, and I’ll miss not being able to run with them every day."
Q: What lesson(s) did you learn from your time with the program?
"I learned a lot of leadership and also the importance of the team and how team goals are more important, and you should put those above individual goals. If you do great things for the team, you’ll do great things as an individual."
Q: What are your plans for college or the future?
"To go to Grand Valley State and major in nursing."
Q: What is your final message to the team?
"My final message is just to give it your all every day and to be a team player and to always be there for your teammates. It’s important to build relationships with your teammates because that’s how you’re going to remember your moments vs. your times. It’s how you impact the team."
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