State medal fulfills Kuehner goal in last high school race

Four years of training, learning and competing as a cross country runner came down to one final day for Aurora senior Elena Kuehner, who capped her high school career by earning a medal at the Class C state meet in Kearney.
Kuehner started the season with high expectations, none bigger than to bring home some hardware from Kearney Country Club. On a magnificent day to run, with bight sunshine, no wind and temps in the upper 60s, Kuehner did what she set out to do, crossing the line in 14th place.
“It feels amazing,” Kuehner said through a relieved smile after the race. “I’ve been working for this for multiple years now and it’s just so awesome to finally get on that medal stand.”
Based on time comparisons, the Lady Huskies’ No. 1 runner knew she had a shot at a medal, but first had to overcome the adversity that derailed her from the gun during last year’s race. Shortly after the start of the 2020 race, Kuehner went down, causing a chain reaction of chaos that ultimately led to a restart. 
“When we first went out it was in the back of my mind, but as soon as we got around that corner I was feeling good and I thought I did a better job avoiding the general pack of chaos this year,” Kuehner said. “I felt really good coming in. I mean obviously I was a little nervous coming into the state meet, but I was just so excited to be competing and I just used that to my advantage. I knew that if I went out and ran my race that I could medal.”

To read more, please see this week's print or e-edition.