Argyle senior Kristie Krueger handily won the Class 5A-4A division at the Ken Garland Invitational in Denton on Saturday with a time of 10:45. Krueger, though, is no flash in the pan.
Other notable performances this season include a run of 10:40 at the Ponder meet on Sept. 22 and 10:52 at the Reunion Run in Decatur on Sept. 14.
"She sets such a fast pace and she has a really good kick at the end," Argyle coach Kathi Olson said. "Her pace is so fast that it's hard for people to keep up with her. She runs a 5:10-mile pace. That's extremely fast for cross country."
Calls from major colleges offering full athletic scholarships to Krueger, Olson said, have poured in from across the country.
"I'm just in awe, talking to all of these coaches at Division I schools like Georgia and Texas and North Carolina, and they're talking to me about my little Kristie," Olson said.
Other schools in the mix include Texas A&M, Louisville, Alabama and Mississippi State. Olson said that after Krueger helped Argyle win the 2A state basketball title as a sophomore, she joined the Metroplex Striders club and focused just on running.
"Ever since she did that, she has been ripping it up," Olson said. "You could just see that she took it to the next level."
Bobbi Roquemore
