High school cross country meets in Arizona are approximately 3.1 miles. Most of the courses deviate slightly from the 3.1-mile distance - ranging from approximately 2.9 to 3.3 miles, with the majority of courses likely being approximately 3.0 to 3.1 miles. That's the technical definition of cross country.

The personal definition comes in two words - Kari Hardt. Hardt, a 5-foot-2, 105-pound senior from Queen Creek High School is separating herself from the rest of the pack. She has already posted times of 2:18 (800M), 5:06 (1600M), 11:00 (3200M), 17:24 (3 Miles), and 8:15 (5000M). She is the returning state champion in 3A and was named to the All-Region and All-State team in 2003.

Running guru Jeff Messer, an assistant cross country coach at Desert Vista stated, "Kari Hardt is, in my view, the premier Arizona female high school distance runner in ANY of the respective classes. More importantly, she is a wonderful young lady, and her family is equally wonderful and exceptionally supportive. I expect her to run the fastest time of any female competitor at the state meet on November 6th."

Kari is receiving high interest from: ASU, Oregon, BYU, NAU, Adams State, Duke, and NC State.

We'll keep you posted on Kari's accomplishments, and how her recruiting progresses throughout the year.