Kendra Graber, a senior at Vallivue High School in Caldwell, has signed a letter of intent of run for the Lewis-Clark State College women’s cross country and track programs next fall, Warrior coach Mike Collins has announced.
Graber will be the second runner from Vallivue to compete for the Warriors, following the footsteps of three-time NAIA All-Americans and national champion Tausha Kuzmic. Kuzmic won the marathon title at the NAIA championships in 2005.
“She has some very big footsteps to follow in, but we believe she has the heart, desire and talent to make it happen,” Collins said.
Graber battled an injury in the fall, which hampered her senior year in cross country for the Falcons. She still managed to place in the top 50 at the Idaho State Class 5A meet and helped the team finish fifth overall.
Collins said Graber has resumed full training and expects her to have a solid spring in track.
“We believe she is a gem that a lot of schools may be overlooking,” Collins said. “As a junior she earned USATF Junior Olympic All-American honors in cross country by finishing 11th overall in the Junior Olympic national championships. That same year she just missed medaling at the state championships in cross country finishing 21st overall in the 5A division. She had been a medalist the prior two seasons in the smaller 1A/2A division while she was attending Greenleaf Academy. She was also a state champion in the 3,200 as a freshman.”
Graber has a high school GPA over 3.6 and is planning on studying Biology at LCSC.
