Last fall, Rachel Bycroft and her Iola High Fillies cross country teammates saved their best for last.
After three straight near-misses in qualifying for the 4A state meet, the IHS girls raced to a third-place finish at the regional meet in Chanute — enough to qualify for state as a full team.
The feat was all the more remarkable because Iola entered the season having lost its top three runners to graduation from the year before.
Leading the way was the speedy Bycroft, whose diligent work over the summer quickened her pace substantially, to the point she was Iola’s top finisher throughout the season.
Now an IHS graduate, Bycroft is taking her running skills to Allen Community College.
The daughter of Matt and Jenn Bycroft, Rachel signed a letter of intent Thursday to run both cross country and track at Allen.
“I wasn’t ready to leave Iola yet,” Bycroft told the Register afterward. “And Coach DeGrado does a good job at getting his runners to go fast.”
Vince DeGrado is ACC cross country and track coach, whose teams traditionally rank near the top of the Jayhawk Conference and Region VI in both track and cross country events.
At IHS, Bycroft trained under coaching legend Marv Smith, Dana Daugharthy, assistant cross country coach and Brittany Harrington, distance track running coach.
Bycroft also was coached by Ted Noble, a long-time distance runner who has mentored hundreds of youngsters over the past four decades and continues to do so as a retiree living in Iola.
HER PURSUITS in the classroom have been just as successful. She’s a member of the National Honor Society, which recognizes her academic standing, as well as her leadership in character in school.
Bycroft intends to pursue a teaching degree, preferably to work with elementary school students.
After Allen, she intends to attend Emporia State University.
