10/31/98 at Cherry Hills Village, CO - 3.1 miles
Colorado State Meet
5A Girls
Yemm finishes in grand style
By Michael Kane in The
Denver Post
Nov. 1 - CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE - In order to win a cross-country state
championship, Katie Yemm had to make one very big sacrifice: anonymity.
The Fort Collins senior entered her final high-school season as the Class 5A
"un-runner'' - unannounced, unassuming and almost completely unknown to her
competition. That happens when you finish eighth at the state meet, mixed in with the
breathless, doubledover masses, as Yemm did a year ago.
This season, Yemm left the "un'' with the starter's gun, winning her first,
second, eye-opening third, headturning fourth, and on to a gold-medal-grabbing ninth
victory Saturday at the 1998 state meet.
In utilizing the same advantage she's enjoyed all season, an unmatched stride, the
5-foot-11 Lambkins star stretched out an early lead along the many down slopes behind Kent
Denver School and held off a late charge by two fast freshmen to win in 18 minutes, 54
seconds.
And with the victory, Yemm for 1998 became unbeatable.
"This race was hard on me mentally,'' Yemm said. "I tried not to look at
anyone besides my coaches while I was running. I was nervous, and I kept thinking about
pushing my shoulders down, not tensing up.''
Yemm took a lead early, edging into the front at the first turn about 400 yards from
the start. At about the one-third mark of the 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) course, the senior
was shadowed by Arvada West freshman Laura Probst.
Having lost twice this season previously to Yemm, Probst knew not to lag, staying about
10 yards or two seconds behind the pace.
"We were all chasing Katie,'' Probst said. "She was my motivation.''
Yemm was unwilling to relinquish the lead. Down the stretch, Probst never seriously
challenged, and slipped behind Durango freshman Emily Roser at the tape. Both finished in
18:59, five seconds behind Yemm, but Roser was second by a nose.
"I was so scared out there, I didn't know what would happen,'' said Roser, who had
previously won one meet this year. "So I just kept running hard.''
Yemm, who recorded the state's fastest time among girls this season, an 18:21.1 at the
Liberty Bell Invitational, said she was nervous before the race.
"When we were warming up, I was feeling a lot of pressure,'' she said. "I
couldn't pretend like this wasn't a big race. I forced out a couple smiles, and I think
that helped. I was trying everything to relax.''
Defending champion Jennifer Kintzley of Poudre challenged in the second mile before
fading to finish seventh in 19:09. "I took it out a little slow,'' said the senior,
"For a while, Katie was right there, but I mentally slipped for a while and she was
gone.''
In the girls' team competition, Durango placed two runners in the top five to win its
second championship. After Roser, senior Sarah Malberg finished fourth in 19:01, followed
by junior Alicia Spear (26th) and sophomore Tiffany Flint (51st).
Fairview was second, ahead of Highlands Ranch, Fort Collins and defending champion
Cherry Creek.
"We figured we could be in the hunt,'' Durango coach Ron Keller said. "But we
live on the other side of the mountains. It's hard to compare times and courses.''
