Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience program honored as Festival of Miles beneficiary

The junior track and field standout at Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience carefully approached Visual and Performing Arts cross county coach Jean Kuczka with a request last October.

VandenBrink wanted to work out with the cross country team even though she had given up that sport to concentrate on sprinting.

"She told me I was always welcome and that I could run with them whenever I wanted to," VandenBrink recalled. "I was looking forward to it."

That chance never came.

A few days later, Kuczka was among three people killed October 24 at the Visual and Performing Arts campus, which it shares with Collegiate. The tragedy also included the shooting death of a student and the gunman.

It also robbed the two schools, which share the same buildings and co-op together in most sports, of a knowledgeable and well-respected teacher and mentor.

"She got along with everybody and everybody got along with her," Collegiate sophomore cross country runner Audrey Oberkrom said. 

The Collegiate cross country team has forged ahead, thanks in part to the financial and emotional support it has received from the tightly knit running community.

That was never more evident than Thursday night.

The Festival of Miles meet, an annual affair that features some of the best runners in the country, selected the Collegiate cross country program as the recipient of its Athletes in Need charity.

The 15-race extravaganza, held at St. Louis University High, raises money to help support athletes competing in cross county and track and field. More than $100,000 has been given out since the event began in 2008.

Collegiate principal Frederick Steele and athletics director Heather Kristof were recognized midway through the meet.

"We will be forever grateful and indebted to this sport," Steele said.

Added Kristof, "The number of people that are out here and that care, it's just phenomenal."

VandenBrink, a potential NCAA Division I prospect, finished second in the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the Class 4 state meet last weekend in Jefferson City.

As soon as she crossed the finish line with a personal best time of 24.7 seconds in the 200, her mind drifted back to the lessons she learned from Kuczka while running cross country as a sophomore before concentrating solely on track and field.

"She would have been so proud of me," VandenBrink said

Kuczka was a member of the Missouri State University field hockey team that won the national championship in 1979. She was elected to the Missouri Sports Fall of Fame in 2010.

Visual and Performing Arts student Alexzandra Bell also was gunned down during the attack at the St. Louis school.

Orlando Harris, the 19-year-old shooter, was killed by police.

The Festival of Miles board of directors choose a person or group in need every year prior to the meet.

"We always talked about how we could support these kids and help them with all the things they must be going through," Festival of Miles board member Katie Helbig said. "This was the best way."

Collegiate brought about 15 students and administrators to the meet.

"The running community is good at helping one another," Collegiate track and field coach Allison Stockmann said.

Stockmann said the money raised by the non-profit Festival of Miles group will help get new uniforms, cleats and other necessities.

Plus, it will also help the Owls attend more meets during the next school season.

"This is just wonderful to have people do this for us," Steele said. "We can't thank everybody enough."

The Festival of Miles meet features runners from grade school to the professional level.

Columbia High junior Ethan Hogan won the high school boys Elite Development Mile in 4 minutes, 6.62 seconds.

Days earlier at the Illinois state championship meet, Hogan won the Class 2A boys 3200-meter run title in 9:02.22 and finished second in the 1600 in 4:13.45.

On the girls side, Kirkwood High junior Josie Baker led the local charge with a second-place finish in the high school girls Elite Development Mile.

Baker fashioned a personal-best time of 4:49.32, chopping three full seconds off her previous best.

And she did so adorned with glitter all over her face and legs, a tradition started by the Pioneers.

"It's something our team always does, so I wanted to keep it going," said Baker, who won the Class 5 crown in the 1,600-meter race last weekend. "We always say, 'look good, run good' and that's all I was trying to do."