Being a distance runner, Kaelyn Balch has always taken an interest in watching the 3200-meter races at the state track and field championships.

The Bishop Carroll senior paid close attention to the lead runner as they rounded the final curve and imagined the feeling of having a wave of cheers wash over you as the Cessna Stadium crowd brings you home.

“I always wanted that to be me,” said Balch, who finished second in Class 5A the last three years. “I’ve always come up just short. I wanted to know what that feeling was like.”

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