Kacy Smith was running through the mud and the muck, battling bugs, horrible conditions, and other competitors who simply couldn’t complete the run at the FACA Classic in Tampa in September. It was a gruesome event in which runners were passing out and there were lonely shoes strewn throughout the course. Smith, a sophomore at Estero High in Fort Myers was dancing in the dark as she easily won the FACA run, smiling as she sunk into mud that was ankle deep at some spots along the course at Ed Radice Park.
Smith said it was fun and didn’t notice that the finish line resembled a battlefield long after she was finished.
“I loved running around in the mud,’’ Smith said. “I didn’t know what was going on behind me. It was easy, I just ran where the ground was solid. I barely even noticed the mud.’’
She followed that up with a big win at the University of Florida. It was those two big season opening victories that propelled Smith from obscurity to one of the favorites for the state title in November.
Two weeks later, she finished fifth at the flrunners.com Invitational in Titusville with a time of 17:47 and the Estero girls team finished just one point behind Lakewood Ranch, which runs on the 3A level, one level higher than Estero. Smith finished just a second behind Ransom Everglades junior Nicole Carpio.
It hasn’t been bad for a girl who never even started distance running until just 15 months ago when coach Jeff Sommer convinced her to go out for the team. She did some running while in middle school, but never considered taking it seriously until last year.
“I think I was always a good runner,’’ Smith said. “It was coach (Sommer) who really got me into it and made me competitive. I didn’t know how good I could be but when you are running with people who can push you, then you see how good you can really be.’’
Smith ran a 19:01 at states last year, earning her tenth place, and thinks she can do a lot better this year. “I did pretty well as a freshman, but if people push me I know I can do better,’’ Smith said. “Coach Sommer is always pushing me and sometimes I argue with him but I always lose that one.’’
It wasn’t hard to adjust to running cross country, Smith said. She said she always had the knack for distance running, but it wasn’t until she got to Estero and started running with girls who had similar talent that she was able to kick it into the next gear.
She is part of a team that is a solid contender for the Class 2A title. The team is currently considered the best in the state after they earned that title back from Lakewood Ranch with a victory at Prestate in Dade City two weeks ago.
The one thing Smith said she really wants to do is run more with the boys. The Estero boys team is also among the favorites in Class 2A and, while Smith knows she can’t win head-to-head with most of them, she thinks she can give them a run for their money.
“I am very competitive,’’ Smith said. “When people tell me I am just a girl and I can’t run with the boys, that just pushes me. I can run with anyone. I can tell you that the boys know they can’t pick on me and when I am practicing, I am working on beating the boys.’’
Frankly, she'd already make most boys varsity teams in the state!
With the state championship looming about three weeks away, Smith will face some pretty stiff competition. The 2A is possibly the deepest class individually for girls in the state with fellow super-soph Shelby Davidson of Cocoa Beach, defending state champion Stephanie Schappert of Pope John Paul, Nicole Carpio of Gulliver Prep (who has 1-to-1 record against Kacy the two times they've faced each other this year), and upstart Rebecca Chandler of Bolles.
It will be a tough battle, but with the incredible toughness she has shown and the rapid improvements she's already made over such a short running career... it would be hard to bet against Kacy standing at the top of the 2A podium on November 20th.
