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Ryle distance runner competed in national indoor meet few weeks before spring track season started


By Zoey Hoffman
NKyTribune contributor

A few days before high school track season began, Ryle sophomore distance runner Allison Kopser competed in the New Balance Indoor Nationals that were held March 9-13 in Boston.

Kopser was one of 30 runners from across the country who qualified for the girls 5,000 meter run based on personal best times at that distance. She also competed in the 2-mile and 3,000-meter races.

Sophomore distance runner Allison Kopser works out with the Ryle track team. (Photo by Zoey Hoffman)

This was not Kopser’s first time attending a national meet. At the AAU Junior Olympics last summer, she won gold medals in three events in the girls 15-17 age group.  

“It’s always nerve racking, but I’m excited to be able to go there and qualify for it,” she said of the indoor nationals.

Kopser finished 17th out of 30 runners in the 5,000-meter run with a personal best time of 17:53.12. In the 2-mile run, she placed 89th out of 128 with a time of 11:07.69. In the 3,000-meter event she came in 94th out of 128 with a time of 10:24.54.

“It’s a little different because the (indoor) track is only 200 meters where an outdoor one is 400,” she said. “So it’s double the laps, which is kind of weird because it makes it feels longer. You have to approach it differently.”

Kopser expects her performance at the national championships to help with the college recruiting process. Most high school meets don’t include the 3,000-meter run and she wanted to post a good time for college coaches to have on record.

“I was really excited to qualify since I’ll be able to get a time and they’ll be able to look at it and see what time I get as a sophomore and how it develops through the years for people to notice and see it,” she said.

The person who helped Kopser prepare for the national championships is Shawn Proffitt, head coach of the Ryle track and cross country teams and director of the BCK Thoroughbreds club team.

“He is really one of my main support systems that I have in my life, just in general,” Kopser said. “And he’s been so awesome to me and really prepared me for everything coming my way.”

Kopser is one of Ryle’s top returning runners moving into the spring track season. In last year’s Class 3A, Region 5 track meet, she placed second in the 1600 run, third in the 800 run and was a member of the Raiders’ winning 4×800 relay team. 

“I’m really focusing on cutting down time and making the best time I can,” she said of her goals this season. 


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