Girard may be a small prairie city in Kansas -- population 2,789; 2.44 square miles according to the 2010 U.S. Census -- but this quiet community has produced one of the most promising distance runners in the Class of 2017: Cailie Logue.
The senior from Girard High School shocked many last year with a third-place run at Nike Cross Nationals and quietly set three Kansas state records on the track this spring. She's the No. 2-ranked distance runner in the Saucony Flo50 national rankings and a major title threat for December.
But first on her list is the Rim Rock High School Classic, held Saturday morning at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
Logue, a self-described "homebody," is the kind of girl who throws "oh my" into casual conversation, who raises rabbits and goats to show at the country fair, who plays the piccolo (and the flute!), and who never boarded an airplane until she qualified for the national championship as a junior last year.
Her dad, Matt Logue, has coached Callie throughout high school just like her grandfather, Errol Logue, did for Matt at Lansing High School, 135 miles to the north of Girard.
Two years ago, Errol was inducted into the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) Hall of Fame.
Track and field and cross country running and coaching is in the Logue bloodline. Matt was a three-time All-American at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, where he met his wife, Christie Logue (neé Allen), an eight-time DII national champion in the 5K and 10K. Matt entered his 21st year of coaching when he inherited his only daughter as a new pupil from Nate Clevenger, the middle school track coach.
Matt's first glimpse of Cailie's talent came pretty quick, when she broke five minutes in the mile as a ninth grader.
As a sophomore, Cailie traveled to the NXN Heartland Regional on a whim with no expectations beyond "have fun with it." She took seventh, two spots outside of qualifying for Nike Cross Nationals.
A year later, Cailie took runner-up honors at the NXN Heartland Regional, then gutted out a surprise third-place run at NXN. Only stud seniors Katie Rainsberger and Ella Donaghu finished ahead; both girls rank on the all-time U.S. prep list and now compete for storied programs at the University of Oregon and Stanford.
Leapfrogging past goals seems to be a motif in Callie's promising young career.
This past spring, she hoped to finally break 4:50 in the 1600m on the track.
"The year before, I had run 4:59, 4:59, over and over, and I finally had a breakthrough and ran 4:51," she said. "I knew I wanted to run 4:50, so my goal was 4:48. I got in a really good race with [fellow Kansas star Molly Born] and we had a little race plan to go through pretty quick."
The duo split 2:21 halfway through and Cailie hung on to run 4:44. Born finished six seconds back in 4:50.92.
"I really surprised myself," Callie said.
That race, at the Shawnee Mission North Relays in May, was one of Cailie's favorite sporting moments this spring. The other was winning three Class 4A state titles: 10:31.6 for 3200m, 4:54.44 for 1600m and 2:13.08 for 800m. She wasn't aiming to break the state meet records, but she did... in every event.
"When I got to the 800m, I was just trying to win. But I actually was surprised with the state record there, too," she said.
When every performance from Cailie is surprising, can we really be shocked if she wins the national title this December?
She is, after all, the top returner to the field.
The Logues acknowledge the target on her back. But they say there's no pressure, and they sound like they mean it, too.
"There is an expectation [to win], but there's so many variables," Callie said. "When I look back at a lot of the girls who were at the regional last year or at the Nike Elite Camp, you see that when you get to this level it's very common for people to get injured. I just want to stay healthy.
"I think there's a little bit of pressure, but I try not to let it get to me."
Watch the 2015 Nike Cross Nationals Girls Championship:
When asked about her goals for the season, she mentions qualifying for NXN but makes no remark on placement or winning the title.
Instead, she talks about qualifying with her team to the state meet (it missed qualifying last year), breaking her state meet course record of 18:08.87 at Wamego Country Club, and lowering her all-time 5K PR from 17:11.
"I want to improve that time and maybe break 17," she says. "That would be a pretty high goal."
Decoded... Logue is ready to blow 17 minutes out of the park.
College choices: Cailie Logue is taking official visits to Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Arkansas. She's also considering Minnesota, Kansas, Tulsa, Adams State, and Colorado MPSU. She sees herself as a 5K/10K specialist and plans to major in biology or kinesiology.
Extracurriculars: In addition to track and cross country, Cailie is in the Family Community Career Leaders of America, writes for the Girard High School newspaper, The Trojan Tribune, and enters sports writing and cutline writing competitions. She plays the flute and the piccolo, and volunteers and teaches children's church with her church youth group.
"I think the biggest problem with Cailie is that she's a good student, and with all her activities, she doesn't always get that eight hours of sleep!" -Matt Logue
Typical Weekly Mileage: 45 mpw in-season, 50-55 mpw over the summer with a highest week of 60.
Early Season Workout: 12x300m at 52-53 seconds.
You thought you didn't like Mondays... "Mondays are 'Murder Mondays.' That's our fast stuff or hard stuff, whether it's a hill workout or something on the track or hill repeats." -Cailie Logue
Kansas isn't all flat prairie land... "Where we are, there are some areas that are very flat but there are some areas with rolling hills. We have a lot of trees." -Matt Logue
But there is no place like home... "I live in a really small, rural area so it's easy to have a sense of community. You really get to know everyone there and everyone is supportive of things you do. I've raised rabbits and goats for the fair. That's helped me with hard work and responsibility, because the rabbits depend on me every day. ... I want to stay close to my home and family, and I am looking for a good sense of community in my college choice and be able to go to school every day and enjoy it, even if I weren't running." -Cailie Logue
