Wichita Northwest High junior cross country runner Ava Barker likes to keep
moving. Her family has moved several times. She has moved quickly through school
and will graduate after her junior year. She wants to move to Germany after she
graduates. And, of course, she loves to run. “I am a military child and just moved to
Kansas from Texas this summer. I was always encouraged to play sports because I’m
tall, and I’ve tried just about everything, but running has always stuck. I have run track
as a sprinter for a couple of years, and then I joined cross country as a sophomore. I
grew to love the sport and running in general.”
As any teenager who has moved around a lot can attest to, relocating has its
own unique challenges, but Ava has taken to her new home and new team in stride,
“This season I looked forward to making new friends. I just moved to Kansas in June
and didn’t know if I would make any friends, but being in cross country has truly helped
grow a community in the sport I love. Starting on a team of strangers was really hard at
first, and I thought I would have no one to support and encourage me, but during the
course of the season, they have grown to be another family that I didn’t see coming and
have given me more than I could’ve asked for.”
Making new friends probably comes fairly naturally to Ava, given her optimistic
nature, “I like to think of myself as a very positive person. I love encouraging others and
helping when they are down, so definitely a big cheerleader.”
Ava’s contributions to the team aren’t limited to her leadership skills. It turns out,
she is a really good runner, as well, “Going into the season, I had never run a 5k before,
and I was aiming for sub 25 minutes, but when I started racing, I realized I needed a
new goal.” That is because Ava smashed her initial expectations and recently ran a 5k
personal best of 23:14.
Now, heading into the championship part of the schedule, Ava is excited to see
how she and her teammates will fare at the City Meet, Regionals, and hopefully at
State. “My biggest weakness was always that I simply never believed I could be better,
but I am really proud of where my team and I are right now. We have come so far, and
I’m going to miss them so much, but the season isn’t over yet, and I know we have more
to show.”
Besides cross country, Ava’s greatest love may be competing in the field of
culinary arts. Ava is also a standout in the classroom and is a member of the
prestigious National Honors Society.
Even though she is only a junior, Ava is on track to graduate this May. After
graduation, she would like to move to Germany for a short time to complete an 18-
month work program, with an end goal of saving up money to go to pastry school.
