Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

NORTH LIBERTY – From the moment Ashlyn Keeney ran her first high school race two seasons ago she has been the face of the Liberty High cross country program.

One of the elite runners in the state, Keeney went unbeaten as a freshman in races before the state meet and was the 4A runner-up last season.

Keeney may be the face of the program to outsiders but to those close to Liberty High cross country there is no question who is the heart and soul of the team.

That distinction belongs solely to senior Cami Mac.

“Cami has built this program, she really has, she has dedicated her heart and soul to it,” Liberty High coach Tonya McDonough said. “She just absolutely loves it and she gives 110 percent every single day and I’m so proud of her for that.”

Before Liberty High distance running became synonymous with the success of Keeney it was Mac who was the schools first state medalist – placing 13^th at the 3A state meet in 2017.

The past three seasons have been filled with ups and downs for Mac.

Injuries and illness at inopportune times have kept her from adding to her state medal count or crossing off a couple of key career goals.

None of that has stopped Mac from doing what she does best, being a teammate and a leader for everyone in the Liberty High program has followed what she started.

“From the time I first came to Liberty she has brought the whole team together,” Keeney said of Mac. “She works so hard, she is a great teammate, she is really good about helping out the younger kids at races. Through everything she has been through she has just been a great leader.”

Mac will attempt to end her career on a high note on Friday when she makes the third and final appearance of her career at the state cross country meet at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.

The Class 4A girls race will kick off the first of two-days of action at 10:30 a.m. on Friday.

“Last year I was injured and I didn’t perform how I wanted to and I’m feeling pretty good right now and hopefully that carries through to Friday,” Mac said. “Getting in the top 15 is my biggest goal and to just go out with a bang. It’s my last race so I want to go out and run strong.”
Keeney elevated the Liberty High program immediately when she came aboard in 2018, turning the Lightning into an instant contender.

It was Mac that laid the foundation.

Mac and fellow senior McKenzie Logan were the lone varsity runners for Liberty High during its debut season in 2017.

Most practices featured a handful of runners, not enough to field a varsity team at the district meet that season.

“We’ve come so far, oh my gosh,” Mac said. “We started out with only a few girls and it was just Kenzie and I running varsity and now we have a full crew and it’s great.”

Mac reached the state meet in her first season of varsity cross country, finishing 13^th at the 3A state meet.

At the time she figured that was the first of what would be many state medals.

The past two seasons didn’t go the way Mac imagined.

After failing to qualify for state in 2018 Mac struggled with an injury while finishing 60^th in a time of 19:59.9 last season.

The time was 43 seconds slower than her time on the same course as a freshman.

“It’s frustrating in a way to work so hard and that’s what shows but at the same time I know what I was going through and I know I wasn’t 100 percent so it wasn’t fair to myself to expect a 100 percent race out of me,” Mac said. “It was a little disappointing it. I feel like my fitness and progress hasn’t always shown in my results.”

No matter what the race results have been for Mac throughout her career she has always put her teammates first.

Regardless of soreness or pain from an injury she hasn’t let it affect her attitude or effort.

She is a leader for the younger runners, a mentor for others and a friend to anyone that needs it.

“The girls absolutely love her,” McDonough said. “She leads by example. She never misses a beat she cares tremendously about her teammates and tends to look out for them as a big sister.”

Keeney could see the way the season ended for Mac last fall was difficult.

She knew the feeling.

Keeney hadn’t lost a high school race before the state meet her freshman season and led for more than two miles before finishing 72^nd while dealing with dehydration.

After getting words of encouragement from Mac for several seasons she offered the same to her teammate after her 60^th place finish at state last season.

“I feel like it helps when you have someone going through the same thing,” Keeney said. “We’ve both been there before and this year we are just going to focus on this race. Past races don’t matter it’s just about what we can control.”

With her final prep race approaching Mac is running at perhaps the highest level of her career.

She is ranked 20^th in Class 4A entering the state meet after placing fifth at the state qualifier in 19:37.

“I think she is going to have a great race on Friday,” McDonough said. “She feels good right now, she is ranked 20^th in the state and I think she is ready to go. She’s a competitive kid and this means a lot to her so I think she’s going to do well.”

Mac heads back to Fort Dodge one final time on Friday with a chance to put her stamp on the program.

This final race will be extra special for the Lightning senior leader with her younger sister Cori qualifying alongside her.

Cori Mac secured her first ever trip to the state meet with a 12^th place finish at the state qualifier.

“It’s cool to be able to share this with her,” Cami Mac said. “It was super special being able to qualify together, having been through that as a freshman myself I understand how it feels for her.”

Cori Mac has watched her older sister twice run at the state meet from outside the lines.

On Friday she gets an opportunity to run alongside her sister and the person she looks up to on the team.

“She’s definitely the unspoken team captain,” Cori Mac said. “She looks out for all the younger girls and leads us at practice. I’m really excited to run with her one last time.”

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