Lauren Klem is the once-in-a-generation ninth-grader who built a reputation long before her first high school cross country meet.
It was a lot for the diminutive Klem to shoulder this season, but she did so with a quiet poise, leading the Grizzly Cubs to a 15th-place finish in their first-ever team appearance at the state meet.
Klem, a sectional champion who went on to finish 27th at state despite the never-before experience of running nearly the entire race without her right shoe, is Runner of the Year for the Daily Journal’s All-County team in girls cross country.
It’s the fourth consecutive season a Grizzly Cub runner has earned the honor; two of Klem’s teammates from this past season, senior Lillian Lacy (2017-18) and junior Jenna Newton (2019), were previous recipients.
Standing just 5 feet tall, Klem’s path to success isn’t her stride, but rather an amazing reservoir of energy combined with yearning to always finish first.
“She just has a desire to win, and she’s got a competitiveness, whether it’s in a running race or it’s a board game at home,” said Brian Klem, a 1991 Franklin graduate, of the third of his and his wife Marcy’s four children. “There’s just something about her that she knows how to win things.
“Lauren has a great mentality about sports. She’s not afraid of failure. If she’s at (basketball) practice and she’s missing shots, she’s just going to keep shooting. It doesn’t matter whether she’s shooting 40 percent or 80 percent, she’s going to keep shooting.”
Lauren applied the same philosophy in cross country. Sure, she lost her shoe 100 meters into the race at state — another runner inadvertently stepped on the back of it — but that wasn’t going to stop her from completing the remainder of the course.
Klem, who won 26 races in middle school — including three county meets — and was runner-up on seven other occasions, was still making the transition from running 3K distances to 5K. Nonetheless, she placed third in her varsity debut. Two weeks later, her school hosted the Franklin Invitational, and Klem had become more comfortable on the longer layout.
“Definitely a lot of adjusting because I was used to a short race and being done. Evan a one-mile difference is so much,” Klem said. “My teammates were very welcoming this season, and it was just a fun group.
“Next year I want to get back into the state meet and try to get top 20 without losing a shoe.”
Franklin coach Ray Lane, who also presides over the Grizzly Cubs girls track and field team in the spring, looks forward to having Klem on his roster. Even without being able to run eighth-grade track due the COVID-19 pandemic, Klem left middle school holding records in the 400-, 1,600- and 2,400-meter runs and as part of the 4×400 relay.
“It’s toughness,” Lane said. “Lauren is super competitive, and she’s athletic. She works hard and really hates to lose. I’ll never forget, the first meet of the year she’s up there with a girl that won the state championship and I was pretty happy.
“I go to talk to her and she was upset. That told me everything I needed to know. Lauren thought she belonged, and she went out and proved that she belongs. The special ones are the ones who go, ‘I could’ve done better,’ and that’s just kind of her personality.”
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The 2020 All-County team for girls cross country:
Lilly Brunsman, Center Grove freshman: Took third in sectional and regional races and continued strong postseason by finishing 30th at semistate … Personal-best time of 18:59 … Third at county meet and 10th at Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference meet.
Phoebe Dowty, Indian Creek freshman: New school record-holder after clocking time of 19:09.3 that shattered previous standard by more than 50 seconds … Finished fourth at the Franklin Sectional and 21st at regional there the following week … 41st at semistate.
Bella Hodges, Center Grove junior: Best time of 19:08 … Runner-up at county and sectional meets … Fifth at regional and 29th at Shelbyville Semistate …12th at conference meet.
Victoria Jackson, Whiteland freshman: Another of the county’s outstanding ninth-graders, Jackson was eighth at sectional, seventh at regional and 59th in her first semistate appearance.
Lauren Klem, Franklin freshman: County Runner of the Year after winning sectional and finishing second at regional … seventh at Shelbyville Semistate and 27th at state meet … Won both county and conference meets … Best time of 18:06.7, set at Riverview Health Invitational in Carmel, is new school record.
Lillian Lacy, Franklin senior: First team Academic All-State … Runner of the Year as a freshman and sophomore, Lacy concluded her prep career with a strong postseason showing … Sixth at sectional and regional and 35th at semistate … 45th at state meet, helping Grizzly Cubs place 15th in their first appearance.
Jenna Newton, Franklin junior: The 2019 county Runner of the Year enjoyed another good season with top-10 efforts at both sectional and regional … Was 44th at Shelbyville Semistate and 58th in what was the Grizzly Cubs’ first trip to state as a team.
Claire Overfelt, Whiteland senior: A 10th-place finisher at both the Mid-State Conference and sectional meets … 11th at Johnson County meet and 14th at Franklin regional before placing 76th at semistate.
Selena Piñon, Greenwood junior: No. 1 runner for the Woodmen placed ninth at sectional and finished one spot higher at regional … Finished 60th at semistate … Personal-best time of 19:39 came at regional … Fifth at Mid-State Conference meet and ninth at county.
Honorable mention
Alexa Brodnik, Whiteland; Sydney Clements, Franklin; Hudson Gilstorf, Center Grove; Mallory Luse, Franklin; Elizabeth Madden, Center Grove; Katia Olmstead, Whiteland; Sadie Schemmel, Center Grove; Rebecca Stockman, Center Grove; Luci Woodrum, Indian Creek; Sydney Woodward, Franklin
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