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Klim triplets from Poland place in top 10
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McKinsie Kilm, center, is flanked by her sisters Michelle, left, and Melissa, right, at the end of Mahoning County cross country meet Tuesday. McKinsie won the event. All three placed in top 10.
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Runners are refl ected in Yeager’s Pond during Tuesday’s Mahoning County boys cross country meet at Austintown Park.
Klim triplets place in top 10
By Matthew Peaslee
Austintown
Roughly six years ago, Victoria Klim began running cross country. It was a fairly new sport for her, but she quickly caught on with great finishes and solid times. She embraced the rigorous training and continuous running habits.
So did her younger sisters.
“They would always come to practices with me,” she said, talking about her siblings McKinsie, Michelle and Melissa.
After a serious of injuries slowed her down, Victoria, now a senior, continues to run for Poland. It’s the triplets, who are juniors, that steal the show.
McKinsie finished first overall in the Mahoning County cross country meet on Tuesday, with Michelle coming up fifth place and Melissa taking 10th.
The Bulldogs won the girls race as a team with 47 points.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Victoria said. Neither could Poland’s coach, Kim Grisdale.
“It’s so fun because they bring that family atmosphere to the whole team,” she said. “It really makes us feel like a family all of the time, because in a sport like cross country it can get too individualistic and its nice to refrain from that.”
Carli Sebest, a Poland freshman, enjoys the commraderie the Klim’s bring to the team. She plays soccer, as well as cross country, so juggling the two often means missing some practices. Nonetheless, Sebest has grown to be great friends with the sisters, after one simple step, of course.
“I can finally tell each one of them by name,” Sebest said.”They look so much alike.”
McKinsie had to hold off Canfield’s Emma Lunne for much of the meet. Right after the 2-mile mark, Lunne took a bit of a lead, but McKinsie caught up with a great last kick toward a time of 20:34, she knew she needed it.
“Emma has an amazing finish,” McKinsie said. “If she would have gone a little faster before, she would have had me.”
One of these days Michelle hopes she can catch her sister, too.
“Some meet, it doesn’t matter which one, I hope I can pass her up.”
Admittedly, there is sibling rivalry between the Klims, but its the passion they have in their workouts that really gets them going. Grisdale says they are “self-motivated.”
Sebest agrees that their success fuels the rest of the team.
“They’ve helped pace me and a lot of the girls on the team because we know were in good shape if we can stick with them.”
The Poland girls, now undefeated in Tuesday meets in 2011, have their sights set on one thing, and one thing only.
“We want to go to states,” Melissa said. “It’d be great to get there.”
The Boardman boys also hope to get there. The Spartans, with 29 points, took the boys race with Mark Hadley and Alan Burns finishing second and fourth, respectively.
South Range’s Ryan Roush continued his impeccable season with a first-place time of 16:22.