Lima Central Catholic’s Kenyon Kill, right, runs with guide Jim Morrisey earlier this month during the Ottawa-Glandorf Blue/Gold Cross Country Invitational at Ottawa Memorial Park.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA — The sport of cross country presents many challenges.
Preparing for a 5,000-meter race requires a great deal of training.
Most high school distance runners log many miles throughout the summer months to get in shape for the upcoming fall season.
The type of terrain on each cross country course varies. It can range from a flat, fast course to a hilly, slow course.
For Lima Central Catholic junior Kenyon Kill, there is one additional challenge he faces when competing in cross country.
After Kill was born, he was diagnosed with optic nerve hypoplasia and nystagmus, a condition that limits how far one can see.
“Basically, I can see a few feet in front of me,” the 17-year-old Kill said. “I can’t see the times on the side when I pass by (during a race), or if there is a tree in the distance. I’ll know when I need to turn, right when that happens.”
However, this condition has not prevented Kill from participating in cross country.
Kill started running in seventh grade.
“When I was little, I tried baseball, basketball and soccer,” Kill said. “And that didn’t work out, because there were a lot of catching balls and stuff like that. … I couldn’t do that. So, I was like, ‘I can run. … Let me join cross country.’ And I’ve done it ever since.”
At last Saturday’s Midwest Catholic Cross Country Championships at Cedarville University, Kill set a new personal best with a time of 24 minutes, 12.7 seconds. Kill was the first LCC runner to cross the finish line at that invite. The LCC boys’ team placed seventh in the Silver Division, while the LCC girls’ squad came in sixth.
When Kill competes, he has a guide run alongside him. Jim Morrisey, a former middle school cross country coach at LCC, runs with Kill in every race. Morrisey and Kill share a tether rope during the races to insure they do not stray away from each other.
Morrisey, an avid distance runner, looks forward to every opportunity he gets to run with Kill.
“I love running with Kenyon. I guess it’s my own Fountain of Youth, so to speak,” Morrisey said with a grin. “It keeps me young and vibrant. I would like to think we’ve developed a nice relationship. He laughs at my horrible dad jokes, and all that stuff.
“Every race this year, he’s gotten faster. I know he finished last season with a 24:37; and he hit that (time) in our third or fourth race this year. He dropped another 15 seconds this week (9/23). So, he’s cruising. He’s getting stronger.”
Kill admitted that early on, he wasn’t sure how to take Morrisey’s sense of humor.
“Sometimes, I didn’t know if he was joking or not. I didn’t know if I needed to laugh or not,” Kill said with a smile.
Added Morrisey, “It has taken him three years to get used to my sense of humor. I remember when he was a freshman, I’d tell a few jokes, and he wouldn’t say anything. And I would be like, ‘Kenyon, I’m just joking’. And he’s like, ‘Oh, OK’.”
Finishes with a smile
First-year LCC head cross country coach Adam Bryan said Kill is a very special student-athlete.
“I knew Kenyon last year because I had him in class. I teach science at LCC,” Bryan said. “I would ask Kenyon, last year as a teacher and as a spectator, on how cross country was going. I also got to watch him race last year, as a spectator. I’m fortunate now to coach him and the other T-Birds. He is like any other runner. He has some limitations that he’s aware of, but he doesn’t try to risk that.
“That’s what makes being a first-year coach easy for me – having runners like Kenyon, who are responsible, show up to practice and leave nothing left in the tank. I ask my runners to make sure there is nothing left in the tank by the time they cross the finish line – good day or bad day. Kenyon does that with a smile. And Kenyon has been having a lot of good days, lately.”
Morrisey was the LCC middle school cross country coach when Kill started running in seventh grade.
It was evident from the start, that Kill would need some type of assistance when competing in the races.
“At a Delphos meet in junior high, he (Kill) went into the woods,” Morrisey said. “He followed a pack of runners into the woods. A little later, the pack came out, but we didn’t see Kenyon after that. So, that’s when we realized that we wanted him to have the freedom to run, but we needed to do this judiciously — like we needed to have someone there to help carry him along. And that’s when Dr. Jim Patterson (parent of an LCC runner) spoke up.
“I started running with Kenyon, maybe in eighth grade, because Jim Patterson ran with him in seventh grade. I think we maybe tag-teamed a little bit during his seventh-grade year. Then, I was running with him pretty much eighth grade and then ever since.”
‘Have to keep going’
Kill said he’s had his share of highs and lows, while competing in cross country over the years.
“I like beating my time and getting better. But when you’re in the moment, you hate it (running a 5k),” Kill said with a grin. “I guess it can be enjoyable, sometimes. But when you’re running, you’re in pain. It’s really hard to enjoy it. But you have to keep going.
“It makes me mentally strong. Some people think it’s hard – as far as running goes. But it’s more of telling yourself that you got it, and you have to keep going. … You can’t quit. I think it really helps me when I tell myself, ‘I got this. … Nothing is going to stop me’.”
Kill is focused on lowering his times.
“Hopefully, next year, I’m averaging like 23 (minutes) — maybe even this year,” Kill said.
Kill has other interests, along with competing in cross country.
“I’m in the (marching) band, in musicals, in the choir, jazz band and pep band. I’m in all the music stuff there at LCC. I also like to draw. … I would say that I’m pretty good at it (drawing). And I play video games, and stuff like that – just like anyone else,” Kill said.
Kill has high aspirations for after high school.
“I’ll probably go to some art school. The dream in the future is to have like a comic book series of some superhero, or something like that,” Kill said with a grin.
Kenyon is the son of Frank and Kris Kill. He has a sister, Carolina, a sophomore at LCC. Frank was a longtime LCC boys’ basketball head coach, who recently stepped down.
Lima Central Catholic will be hosting the Allen County (cross country) Invitational on Tuesday at Faurot Park.
Reach The Lima News sports department at 566-242-0451.
