Blazing Her Own Trail

Some might call her a freak of nature, but there's nothing scary about Stephanie Ganter. Except, of course, for her unrelenting drive to become the greatest cross country runner in the history of McKinney North High School. Only a year removed from having a front-row seat to arguably the most dominant cross country season the state of Texas has ever seen at the Class 4A level, the North senior has hopes and dreams of her own. Such as running collegiately for a NCAA Division I program, and most importantly, besting former teammate Samantha Means' 4A 2006 state meet record time of 10:54.75. Ganter finished fourth overall in that race with her own impressive time of 11:29, but finished well behind Means, who gunned past the field right from the start. Much to the dismay of many North opponents, Ganter has picked up right where Means left off, already winning four of her events in heading into the Nike South Invitational at The Woodlands. Many around the North program knew her success was inevitable, including head coach Julie Martin. But Ganter feels she is the athlete she is today only because of the time spent learning and competing against Means. "Last year I was a little bit more scatterbrained, but this year I'm more focused. I have a race plan," Ganter said. "Having Sam leave made me a little more independent. I was always mimicking her warm-ups and whatever else. Now I'm warming up when I'm ready to, and the independence has really helped me come a long way." Even though she knew 2007 would be a more successful season than she had in her junior year, Ganter still had the feeling of a child on Christmas morning when she claimed victory in her first event of the season at the Marcus I Invitational. "After that first win, I was like, 'Oh my gosh; I won a race!'" she said. "I was calling all of my friends to tell them." Add the Marcus I victory to her first-place finishes at the McKinney Invitational, the Lake Highlands Invitational and the Marcus II Invitational, and Ganter has a historic season in the works. Still, she doesn't let the success go to her head. "I learned the hard way that you can't just say, 'Oh, well I'm the best runner out here, and I'm going to win no matter what,'" she said. "You have to work hard throughout the entire race. You can never underestimate any runner. There are always better runners out there." While Ganter is sure to hold a special place on her trophy wall for all of her medals, her performance in previous races will serve only as a backdrop to the result she hopes to achieve Nov. 10 when she competes in her fourth and final state meet at Round Rock's Old Settlers Park. "I want to win state. I want to beat Sam's time from last year. I want to be the best," she said. "It's a goal to strive for, and if I work hard, I'm sure I'll get it."