Top of the Morning, Feb. 18, 2023
Feb. 18—Add another accolade to Kate Ahmari's shelf.
The decorated Uni High cross-country and track runner was among 26 students named to the IHSA's All-Atate Academic Team on Friday.
"I guess it's nice because I've been working through academics and athletics since middle school," Ahmari said. "It's nice to end off my high school career with this."
Ahmari is a four-time News-Gazette All-Area cross-country runner who plans to continue her academic and athletic pursuits at Cornell University in the fall.
She wrote an essay about her bond with teammates after meeting the criteria for the award — which include a minimum 3.50 grade-point average and participation in at least two IHSA-sponsored sports or activities.
"We're all really close at Uni since it's such a small school, and everyone on the team is friends outside of sports," Ahmari said. "It's just really nice to have such a close community of really motivated, passionate people because it just makes it easier to push yourself and be the best you can be."
She's been a key presence for the Illineks both on and off the course.
"She's really become a leader with our team and doing goal-setting with the girls on the team and organizing team bonding activities," Uni cross-country coach Rachael Brewer Kamps said. "That's been a development that I honestly didn't expect to come out because she's pretty quiet and, like, kind of more introverted. So that's a newer development for her, which has been really fun to watch along with how talented she is."
