Katherine Novak is not a huge fan of “just running.”
But the Crawfordsville junior is so focused that the “busiest 16-year-old ever” made the time to run so well that she has been named the Journal Review Female Cross Country Runner of the Year.
After not running cross-country her sophomore year, Novak only came back this season to win the first meet she ran in.
She followed that with a personal best time at the Charger Classic, then took first at the County Meet.
Next it was being named First Team All-Sagamore Conference (she was highest county finisher at the conference meet), and then qualified for the Regional.
“I like winning meets and having success,” the quiet and shy runner said, “and I like the team and the coaches.”
Her coaches think she is pretty special too.
“It’s obvious what Katherine running meant to our team success this season,” said Athenians coach Jared McMurry, “but her decision to run means so much more than that. She is a competitor, and that showed with her desire to work hard, get better every day, and ultimately have a great junior season.”
That great running season is only a small piece of a large activities pie that Novak maintains.
There is cross country, which got back on the agenda because of running the distance races for the track team, where she was a member of the school-record setting 4x800 relay team last spring.
She had a lead role in the school play that just finished. She was Polly in “Play On.”
She is in her second year as editor of The Athens Periodical, the school newspaper.
She will swim for the Athenians this winter, where she will compete in the 500-meter freestyle.
And she is more than a good student, with a GPA well north of 4.0.
“Katherine is the busiest 16-year-old I know,” McMurry continued. “If she’s not running or swimming, she’s editing newspaper stories or memorizing lines for the school play. And when she’s supposed to be sleeping — she’s doing the exact opposite of what most her age are — doing homework. Striving to get better each and every day in all that she does.”
A typical day starts at 5:30 with some morning practice. Then it’s all the academic stuff (mostly AP classes), then an afternoon practice, which was then followed by play practice.
Homework was squeezed into available slots.
“I’ve always been busy,” she understated.
She was even busy after finishing each race.
“Katherine is a servant leader,” McMurry said. “After every single meet, she would stand at the finish line and hand out water as other runners crossed the finish line. It didn’t matter if she had a great race or underperformed — she was there to serve others and cheer on her teammates and support her competitors. CHS has some great leaders on its athletic teams, but in my young coaching career, Katherine stands out above the rest.”
Novak came into the cross country season looking to improve her stamina to make her a better swimmer and a better long distance runner on the track team, and her improvement through the season pushed the team to higher levels.
“I had little expectation for the upcoming cross country season,” McMurry said. “Not only did Katherine’s decision to run helped us have a great season, but her ability to lead the other seven girls and support them through their successes and failures. She got better and better. Her second mile was usually better than her first.”
Novak has a good support system too.
“My folks are so supportive,” she said. “They usually ask if the next activity is really necessary, but they really care and are very helpful.”
She also has a sister (Caroline) who has seen success with the soccer team.
“At a school the size of Crawfordsville, Katherine can take advantage of being involved in many activities,” Crawfordsville Athletic Director Bryce Barton said. “From the arts to athletics, to the classroom, she excels and has had such a positive impact in our school.”
“Katherine will be the first to admit that running isn’t her favorite thing in the world to do,” McMurry said, “but what she does love to do is work toward a goal and achieve it. I think she had success in all that she did as a sophomore (school, swimming, track, theatre, etc.) and she realized that same success was achievable in cross country and she proved that with hard work and determination. I’m proud of Katherine and everything that she does. I’m so glad that she chose to run this season. Not just because she made our team better, but she made me a better coach by showing me that the glory of success is worth the process it takes to get there.”
The runner, swimmer, editor, thespian and outstanding student seems like she can do it all.
Because she does.
