North Mecklenburg\'s Kimberly Spano burst onto the scene last fall during cross country season, kept improving and ended as one of the best runners in North Carolina history.
And she was a freshman.
Last season, she was third at the N.C. 4A championships, and she won the N.C. 4A Midwest Region, the ME-CA 6 4A meet and two large meets, the 4-Runners and Freedom invitationals.
Even more impressive was what she did three weeks after the N.C. championships.
At the Foot Locker South Regional, one of four national qualifiers, she became the second freshman girl from North Carolina to break 18 minutes for a 5K race at McAlpine Park.
Her time of 17 minutes, 59 seconds, was the second-best in North Carolina last fall and she became the 10th-fastest performer in N.C. history at McAlpine.
She also handily beat Raleigh Athens Drive\'s Callan Fike (18:30), who won the N.C. 4A title three weeks prior, and 4A runner-up Andie Cozzarelli of Apex (18:40).
But what Spano didn\'t get, and wanted, was a berth to nationals. She finished 25th, 15 places from qualifying, but it was an exceptionally fast year.
Only five of the previous 26 years had 17:59 not qualified.
Surprised? She was. But a lesson was learned.
\"There were so many girls at two miles, it was unbelievable,\" said Spano, last year\'s All-Observer Runner of the Year. \"It could have gone to anybody at that race.\"
\"I thought a bunch of girls were going to be one-mile wonders and stop after a mile, but they didn\'t. And I thought people would die on the hill, but they didn\'t. Nobody died anywhere.\"
\"But I guess you have to be prepared for everybody to be there.\"
Indoor track was new to Spano, but she still finished runner-up in the 1,600 meters (5:22.24) at the all-class N.C. Championships, and fourth in the 3,200 meters (11:31.32).
In outdoor track last spring, she was hoping for faster times, but she admitted she didn\'t have a solid strategy at the N.C. Championships.
She still ran 5:14.73 for 1,600 meters (fifth) and 11:18.99 for the 3,200 (fourth).
After a successful track season, she comes in to this cross country season as the 15th-best returnee from the Southeast, and knows she\'ll need to improve to challenge for a state title and have a shot at nationals.
\"I just hope it\'s as good as last year,\" Spano said. \"Hopefully, some of my times will come down.\"
With a year of experience and maturity, that seems likely.