Seabury grad Volner finding her footing at Santa Clara

Toeing the line as an NCAA Division I runner among a new field of competitors has been an exciting experience for Kaylee Volner.

After moving on from the Maui Interscholastic League this summer, the Seabury Hall graduate has been finding her footing on the Santa Clara University women's cross country team.

"It's been such a fun experience so far and I just can't wait for this journey to keep going," said Volner, The Maui News' 2022 MIL Girl Athlete of the Year and two-time cross country state runner-up (2019, 2021). "It's just a really good environment to be a part of."

The last time Hawaii fans saw Volner racing was during her victorious 3,000-meter race during the track and field state championships on Oahu in May.

She's now one of the eight freshmen competing for the Broncos.

"I would say the competition here is much more competitive, even just on our own team, we have four people within 10 seconds of each other, so it's always just, like, fighting for a spot, but I love the competition," Volner said Monday via phone. "It pushes me to work harder during workouts and during races."

Her season kicked off Sept. 3 with her first 6-kilometer race at the USF Invitational in San Francisco, running a time of 22 minutes, 38 seconds. She was the team's fourth runner during her debut and helped the Broncos to a fourth-place finish.

Last weekend, Volner ran a 19:01 -- very close to her personal record of 18:57 -- at the Battle in Beantown 5K in Boston, where Santa Clara finished 10th in a field that included several nationally ranked schools.

"It was a really good experience to get to go to Boston," Volner said. "It was fun to get to see the city, but also focusing on the race when it was time, and yeah, it was just really fun and competitive. ... It was really interesting to see how fast everybody is compared to high school."

Up next, she'll be racing on Friday at the Pacific Invitational.

"Kaylee has a lot of talent, and while we don't typically have a ton of expectation for freshmen to contribute right away, she is gifted and driven enough to mix it up in our top 5 or 7," Broncos coach Pete Cushman said. "She's twice scored for us, and that's impressive considering all the new stresses. She's far from home, she's learning a new race distance -- we race 6K in college instead of 5K -- she's training a little differently, and just adapting to life in college. Making those adjustments at her age is impressive, and a testament to her overall talent."

Since arriving on campus in August, Volner has been "consistent and coachable," Cushman said.

"To excel in this sport requires a lot of consistent work over long periods of time, and she's been so dependable in her short time within our program," he said.

Volner said the transition from the Valley Isle to California has been smooth so far, and is aiming to travel and help the Broncos at their conference and regional championship races at the end of the season.

"It's a year that's all about learning. Kaylee was the best runner in Hawaii, and now she's running in college at the Division I level where there are a lot of other runners who were the best where they came from," Cushman said. "And there are 22-year-olds, and there are athletes from all over the world, and to make the next step it's going to be all about learning, gaining confidence, getting more fit, and ultimately growing as an athlete these next four years.

"This is a step in that direction, and we just hope to see some progress through this freshman year," he added. "If she's scoring for our team, that's all bonus for us during her first year."

A typical Tuesday for Volner, a biochemistry major, includes training in the morning, going straight to chemistry class in the afternoon followed by chem lab, weight lifting in the afternoon and then running some more miles.

Amid a crazy schedule, there's many perks to being a collegiate student-athlete, she noted.

"Like having such great resources, facilities, and just meeting so many new people through athletics, like I've met so many people from teams like water polo, soccer, baseball, rowing, but there's also downsides, like not having as much free time, learning how to juggle everything that's happening," Volner said. "There's definitely some things I was nervous for, like how the team dynamic would be or how I would juggle practice or how hard practices would be from high school practices, but honestly, I think the adjustment has been really great. It's been smooth sailing so far."

Though Volner has been going through a lot of changes, one thing has remained the same: wearing tie dye socks on race day.

"That tradition will forever be a part of my running career," she said with a laugh.

Coincidently enough, the women's team also organizes "Friday Fun Socks," where everyone wears their coolest socks to practice.

"It's really cool," she said. "I thought it was so funny because I always love wearing my fun socks."

* Dakota Grossman is at dgrossman@mauinews.com.