For four years Olathe East standout Brenna McDannold has come across the line at the state cross country meet finishing in the top ten. McDannold, who began running in fourth grade with an AAU team, capped off her cross country career with a 5th place finish, clocking in at 15:13, leading the Olathe East Hawks to a state title. McDannold’s favorite memories from the past four years come from the state championships because of the camaraderie. “I love how close we are and how hard we work for each other.” Lately though McDannold has been celebrating a different victory – getting accepted and committing to one of the most prestigious universities in the nation: the United States Naval Academy. “I have wanted to go to the Naval Academy for about six years," said McDannold. With the admittance rate at 8%, it was no easy task. McDannold was one of 10 seniors chosen by Congressmen Kevin Yoder. It does help that much of her attention was on this task. “I never really looked at any other schools. I knew being a recruited athlete would help with an early acceptance, so that really helped.” She met the cross country coach, Coach Boyle, at a cross country camp in 2011 and was invited with a handful of other recruits on an official visit in September. When asked what she wants to accomplish this track season McDannold said, “If I run good times it would be great, but I want to concentrate on how I race and my mental attitude.” With PR’s of 5:17 and 11:25, McDannold should once again be one of the best runners in the state.
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