Getting to the starting line for Saturday’s 2A state cross country championship race is Stephanie Schappert’s first goal. Staying on her feet through the two-loop, 5-kilometer course comes in a close second.
Those may seem like modest goals for the talented sophomore from Boca Raton Pope John Paul II, who enters the meet ranked third in the FACA 2A individual standings despite posting the fastest time (18:03), but they are very real.
Schappert’s budding freshman campaign was cut short by a potent case of the flu on the eve of the state cross country championship meet.
“We made the trip, hoping that it was a 24-hour flu,” said Schappert, who qualified for the 2007 championship with a seventh-place regional finish. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t and I had to watch from the stands.”
It was a disappointing conclusion to the season for the first-year runner, whose family lineage is synonymous with running success, but unfortunately, it wouldn‘t be her last. Six months later, the blonde...