It wasn't exactly the outcome Katie Imhoff had pictured entering Saturday's Class 2 cross country state finals, but the California junior plans to use the experience as motivation for her senior season.
Imhoff, competing at the state finals for the third time, placed 117th in the girls 5 kilometer race in 23 minutes, 48.87 seconds. She earned All-State honors as a freshman and sophomore, placing 10th and 24th, respectively.
"I'm definitely motivated," she said after Saturday's event at Oak Hills Golf Center in Jefferson City. "I've already talked to my coach about a winter training schedule while I'm in basketball. I need to get my times down and get back to where I was the last two years."
Imhoff has been dealing with a foot injury most of the season.
"This summer, I had a stress fracture in my right foot, which affected my training quite a bit," she said. "It still bothers me a little bit. It bothered me quite a bit (Saturday)."
Pintos cross country head coach Kenny Goans believes his top girls runner will bounce back next season.
"Katie is motivated in everything she does, anything school related or sports related," Goans said. "She's always going to do better than what she's done in the past. I'm confident she will improve and work hard.
"Once you make state, your goal is to get into the top 25. It's mixed emotions because we're glad she made All-District and had the opportunity to make state. People don't understand, unless you're here, it's so much more difficult than a regular meet. You're running against 160 runners, sometimes more, and you're running against the best in the state."
Imhoff tried to keep a positive attitude.
"It's such a blessing to make state," she said. "I was worried at the beginning of the season that I wasn't even going to get here. I'm really blessed to have been here all three years. I was really upset with my placing, but a lot of people would have loved