Ramsey Kavan: Solid in South Dakota

by Marc Bloom

Maybe it's because there's not that much going on in Yankton, South Dakota, a small town of 13,000. Maybe it's just that cross-country running breeds a certain eccentric toughness. But the first indication that Ramsey Kavan was "solid"-tough beyond question, the biggest compliment you can pay a member of the Yankton High cross-country team-came in her freshman season three years ago.

Kavan, now an 18-year-old senior and one of the nation's top runners, was weeks away from placing 3 rd in the state championships. She'd been running on the squad since 8 th -grade and had begun to show that the tougher the conditions, the better she liked it.

But Kavan was still a youngster and her true colors had not yet come to light. Could she sustain her success, lead Yankton to team honors and acquire the toughness to eventually compete on the national level?

One day at practice, the answer came. Yankton cross-country coach Dan Fitzsimmons happened to see a large grasshopper on his shoe. The assistant coach, Dave Dannenbring, a former football player, took notice, and said, "I'll give anybody 10 bucks if they eat the grasshopper."

While Dannenbring addressed the team, he was really looking at Ramsey. "He dared me," said Ramsey. "He knew I'd take it as a challenge. I picked it up and pretended I would eat it."

Dannenbring egged her on. "He said, 'You'll never do that,'" recalled Ramsey. "He knew how to push my buttons. I thought, 'I'll prove him wrong.' I like to prove people wrong."

Fitzsimmons will never forget the moment of truth or dare. "Ramsey snatched that baby off my shoe and swallowed the thing whole," he recalled.

What does a grasshopper taste like?

"A bug," said Ramsey.

As Ramsey downed her post-run snack, everyone present, all the runners and the coaches, had one collective thought. "We said, 'that's pretty solid,'" said Fitzsimmons. "They were appalled and amazed at the same time," said Ramsey.

Mostly amazed. The team responded with the ultimate affirmation: a t-shirt in honor of Ramsey. It was inscribed with "solid" and had grasshopper on it.

Kavan said that was last grasshopper she's eaten. By the way, coach Smith did give her the 10 bucks. It wasn't the money of course. Like the girl said, she likes to prove people wrong.

And that's how Kavan wound up in the Foot Locker cross-country nationals last December in San Diego, placing 6 th . After running undefeated during the 2003 fall season, capped by her second straight state 2A title, leading Yankton to the team title, Kavan competed in the Midwest Regional in Kenosha, Wisconsin, one of four qualifying meets in which the top 8 make the national finals.

Hardly anyone in Kenosha knew who Kavan was. None of the high school newsletters or websites had tabbed her as a contender. Perfect opportunity to prove people wrong. While her opponents wore hats, gloves and turtlenecks in the freezing weather, Kavan raced in a sleeveless shirt. Kavan took 2 nd , behind Katelyn Kaltenbach of Colorado, who went on to win the national title.

"Making the nationals was a dream of mine since I started running," said Kavan. "Nothing feels better than obtaining a goal you worked so hard for."

Knowing that six of the top eight nationals finishers including Kaltenbach return for this season, Kavan has raised the bar on her work ethic, training up to 80 miles a week while working on her speed as well. She won the 1600 meters and 3200 meters for the third straight year in last spring's South Dakota state track meet, giving her 8 state titles in all.

Kavan's number-one fan is Fitzsimmons, who has nurtured her from the start. "Anything you ask her to do," said Fitzsimmons, "she does." Like making the nationals. When Kavan ran in Kenosha, Fitzsimmons was crushed that he could not accompany her. Fitz, as everyone calls him, also coaches gymnastics, whose season had begun, and he had to be at practice.

On the day of the Midwest Regional, when the gun sounded for Kavan's race, Fitz sat down at gymnastics practice in Yankton. He was practically in a trance. "I asked the team if I could have 20 minutes to myself. I was trying to picture the course and what Ramsey would do," he said.

Actually, Fitz didn't need the full 20, only 17:34, Kavan's 2 nd -place time for 5,000 meters that vaulted her to San Diego. At the nationals, the course was two loops, covering a steep hill twice. Kavan ran the hill like she owned it. Going up, that is. Going down was another story. Tall runners tend not to run downhill with finesse. The 5-foot Kaltenbach tore down the descent, while Kavan, at 5'8", lost ground.

"I have to work on that," said Kavan. "Get my stride wider, move better."

Kavan's first strides were taken running as a child with her dad when the family lived in Nebraska. At 12, the Kavans moved to Yankton, to a recreation area in eastern South Dakota. Ramsey swims and water skis in a nearby lake. And she runs the wooded trails, fueled by the fall colors and feelings of liberation.

"I really like the hills," said Kavan. "You push yourself. It requires strength and mental powers."

Solid.

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