TicketsNov. 4, 2010
By Jeff Gentil
GoBEARCATS.com
In the life of Katie Lewnard, the last week will be pretty hard to top. That's not to say she hasn't had good weeks before, but when you compete in the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships, get inducted into the University of Cincinnati's Legion of Excellence, and are voted Homecoming Queen, that is a week to remember.
In the final BIG EAST meet of her UC career, the senior placed fifth on the team and despite a somewhat disappointing showing, Lewnard was buoyed by the overall performance of the team.
"You just never know when you're going to have one of those days (running)," she said. "I was disappointed, but the team did well; other people had really good races. That picked me up a bit."
"It wasn't her best race," Coach Bill Schnier said. "But she has been running well. She's had a very good senior year. She's been in our top-five and often our fourth best runner. This was the only race she didn't run well."
About the time Lewnard and her teammates were getting set to depart for their flight back to campus, it was halftime at the UC-Syracuse football game. You may ask what is so important about that in a cross country story. Halftime of the Homecoming football game is when the winners for Homecoming Court are announced. It just so happens that a particular UC cross country runner featured in this story was in the final five for Queen. You can probably guess who won.
"I thought I had no chance," Lewnard said. "I was just honored to be in the top-five. I had family members at the game and when they called and told me I had won I was shocked. I am still shocked. I was afraid since I wasn't there that I wouldn't win. It was a lot of fun because the whole team celebrated with me. My team is my family. They are all like my sisters."
If you stick around long enough, you see just about everything. That's what happened for Schnier.
"It's the first time a cross country team member has been King or Queen," he said. "We've had others up for nomination before but no winners. She did well in the series of interviews they held and she's very enthusiastic."
Earlier in the week, another honor was bestowed upon Lewnard as she was inducted into the Legion of Excellence. Each year, the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA on each team is given this prestigious award at a ceremony with other UC dignitaries and Hall of Famers. This year, basketball players Steve Logan and Valerie King, swimmer Honza Vitazka, and Olympic silver medalist David Payne were inducted into UC's Hall of Fame and Lewnard got to share the evening with them.
"It was really awesome to get to be so close to all those greats and to see how their hard work pays off," she said. "Coach Seaton surprised me when she told me (about the award). I had no idea. I was really pumped and excited."
The chemical engineering major carries a 3.94 GPA and has already accepted a job with Procter and Gamble once she graduates in June.
"And I am sticking to that June graduation," she said. "I've had such a great education. The co-op program has allowed me to evaluate where I'd like to be in my career. I have a tough major and I've had to be disciplined and learn to manage my time; to balance things."
The UC co-op program played a big role in alleviating some stress down the road for Lewnard.
"I was able to co-op six times," she said. "It certainly has made my life less stressful. I was able to explore and take advantage of the opportunity to get hands-on experience."
With that great week in her rear view mirror, how does Lewnard top it?
"It was one of the best weeks of my life," she said. "But I have things to prove. It will be my last time in a UC uniform (at next week's NCAA Regionals) and I want to represent UC by doing my best. I'm going to go as hard as I can and end on a high note. I'm excited, but sad. It's been a great four years."