Ava Knap to continue running career at Gonzaga University

By FRED KRONER

fred@mahometnews.com

Ava Knap knows her way to the finish line.

The St. Joseph-Ogden athlete wasn’t always the first to finish, but she was never discouraged.

Jason Retz, a cross-country and track coach at SJ-O, remembers the runner he saw in Knap when she was a freshman.

“She was the fourth or fifth fastest,” Retz said.

He wasn’t referring to the entire SJ-O cross-country team, just the runners who were then freshmen and are now part of the upcoming Class of 2022.

As she nears graduation, Knap is leaving an impressive legacy.

Last fall, she placed fifth in the Class 1A girls’ cross-country meet, earning All-State laurels and helping the Spartans to a fourth-place team finish.

Last month, she ran eighth in the Illinois Prep Top Times state indoor meet for 1,600 meters and collected another All-State designation. Knap was also a member of the third-place finishing 3,200-meter relay.

She will try for similar honors outdoors in May.

“Her improvement the last four years is amazing,” Retz said.

Others are noticing.

Knap recently fulfilled a goal three years in the making when she signed a letter of intent to continue her running career at Gonzaga University, in Spokane, Wash., a college approximately 1,800 miles from her hometown.

She has a different mindset about running than she did when her focus was on soccer.

“I started running to stay in shape for soccer,” Knap said. “And I was not very good at it either. I used to despise running warmup laps around the soccer field at practice.”

She toyed with playing soccer at SJ-O, but since the school only fields a co-ed team, that meant she would have to suit up with the boys in the fall.

“By the seventh grade, my two favorite sports were cross-country and soccer,” Knap said. “Truthfully, I almost didn’t go out for cross-country my freshman year.

“But our school didn’t have a girls’ soccer team and as a 4-foot-11 tiny freshman girl, my mom (Kim Knap) wasn’t too enthusiastic with me playing on a co-ed soccer team.

“I had heard a lot of good things about the running program here and knew it was successful, so I decided to stick with this running thing and see what happened.”

Knap played indoor soccer between the cross-country and track seasons as a freshman, then became completely immersed in running.

“I quickly realized my heart was with running, and I didn’t want to risk injuring myself,” she said.

The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

Now the 5-foot-3 senior literally stands above most competitors.

Knap’s development didn’t happen by chance.

Retz said the key to her improving is not a secret.

“To be a good distance runner, you have to have certain traits that most people don’t have,” Retz said. “You have to put in the work and grind when others are not as willing to do that.

“When people were sitting around (during the height of COVID-19), she was out running.”

COVID’s greatest disruptions came during Knap’s sophomore year. That was the time period when she made a commitment to running beyond high school.

“Ever since my sophomore year I knew that I wanted to run in college,” Knap said. “I had watched the upperclassmen and my role models go through the recruiting process and hoped that I could do the same someday, but I didn’t necessarily know if that dream would happen.

“I loved this sport and I loved to watch months of hard work stack together. I wanted to have an opportunity to run four more years and see what was possible.”

Her former teammates were instrumental in helping her to believe in herself.

“She had great role models,” Retz said, “in people like Jillian Plotner, Cassidy Bagby and Hannah Rajlich. She was able to see their passion and love for the sport.”

For Knap, running was more than a way to stay in shape.

“Not only did I love this sport, but running also helped keep me focused and attentive in school, too, as well as challenges me to be a better person,” she said.

Knap never considered it a given that her effort would end with a scholarship offer.

“I truthfully didn’t know that I would get this opportunity until my senior year,” she said.

It was literally one specific day, early in her senior year that Knap came to realize what was in store for her.

“I remember running the Patriot Invite at Detwiler Park,” she said. “That day, I ran a 40-second personal best and when I finished my run, I remember celebrating with my teammates.

“As I was walking my cooldown, a few coaches came up and talked to me and that’s when I realized that I was going to be able to make that dream of running in college come true.

“I’ll never forget riding home on the bus that day, talking with my high school coaches about the opportunities I was going to get and I remember telling myself that I wouldn’t take a single one for granted.”

Getting noticed is a challenge for many high school athletes. Getting noticed by a university halfway across the country is a much greater challenge.

Retz said Knap put herself in a good position.

“She’s a top-notch kid and her improvement the last four years is amazing,” Retz said. “She’s a great student, and when teachers enjoy you as a student, that makes it easier to be recruited as a student-athlete.

“She has earned everything she has gotten.”

Gonzaga women’s cross-country and track coach, Jake Stewart, is no stranger to recruiting in Illinois.

He spent six years as the men’s cross-country head coach at the University of Illinois (and recruited current super-senior Jon Davis, from Oakwood) before relocating to Gonzaga in July, 2018.

“Their program focuses on distances and Coach Stewart will be a perfect fit for her,” Retz said. “Coach Stewart is a friend of mine and there will be some comfort there (for Knap) with a familiar face.”

Though she also visited Indiana State and Washington University, Knap felt good about the environment at Gonzaga.

“I definitely felt like Gonzaga was the best option for me,” Knap said. “Even before my visit, I was connecting with the girls on the team, texting them and making friends.

“I really liked the atmosphere and the coaching staff. When I took my visit, I was in complete awe of the views. After that visit I stayed with my now future roommate (Ava York) for a Wildwood Clinic in Portland. We talked about our shared experiences and it helped solidify even more that this was where I was meant to be.”

Knap recognizes that her transition will include more than adjusting to the hills in the area.

“The biggest challenge was that this was so far out of my comfort zone,” she said, “but that was also the best part. I knew that deciding to run at Gonzaga would be one of the most challenging things for me, but also one of the most transformative.”

Retz has no hesitation in making a prediction for what he sees in Knap’s future.

“She will be successful,” Retz said. “She loves cross-country and can outwork about anyone. Strategically, she can run a course to the best of her abilities.

“On the track, she will never give in. She races so intelligently. She races like a pro, not like a high school kid.”

The impact of her relentless training is shown in the numbers. As a junior, Knap’s best time on a 3-mile cross-country course was 20 minutes and 20 seconds.

As a senior, she registered the second-best time ever by a girl from SJ-O at the state course in Peoria’s Detweiler Park, 17:48.51.

“In track this year, she has gotten a PR in almost every race,” Retz said.

Knap said her favorite races on the track are the ones where she excelled in the recent state indoor meet, the 1,600 meters and the 3,200-meter relay.

“I love the team aspect of the 4-by-800, and the 1,600 meters is a really gritty and tactful race,” she said. “I am excited to try some new events in college. There are a lot more events for distance runners at that level.

“I am not sure what events I will specialize in, but I’ve talked to the coach about the 10 kilometers.”

She will be ready for the challenges that await.

“I am excited to experience the same sport at a new level,” Knap  said. “I already feel like I’ve developed strong relationships with the girls on the team and the coach.

“I plan on taking this next year to learn as much as I can from the people around me who have experience while keeping my head down and working hard.

“I will fill whatever role the team needs.”

Knap, who is in contention for valedictorian honors at SJ-O, plans on majoring in either psychology or biology.

She has a career path which could rival any distance race in length.

“I want to go to grad school and study cognitive science,” she said. “I really want to help people and I want to study neurodevelopmental disorders and how that affects a child’s ability to develop cognitively.

“That means I am probably going to be a student for quite a few more years.”

Knap, who started running as a fifth-grader, said she owes thanks to more than the teammates who helped guide her down the path of success.

“Even starting in middle school, I had the best coaches,” she said. “Corey Plotner was the most energetic and high spirited guy I ever met, and he taught me how to love this sport.

“Michelle Guido was the sweetest and most uplifting female role model a girl could ask for. They really helped me find a love for the sport at a young age.”

Once she entered high school, she was greeted by another devoted coach.

“When I got to high school, I was already all in,” Knap said. “Coach Retz completely invested in me and certainly sacrificed his time and energy into helping me get better.

“I think the most impactful part about all of these coaches was that they cared about who I was as a person and not who I was as a runner. That gave me the security and confidence I needed to chase after big dreams and not be afraid to fail.”

Nothing – yet – compares to her final season of high school cross-country.

“My senior cross-country season was hands down the best experience,” Knap said. “Our team was small this year, but we were such a tight-knit and hardworking group.

“We just kept our heads down, worked, and had an uplifting and positive attitude about everything. It’s fun to be in that type of team environment.”

She also enjoyed meeting her competitors from other schools.

“This year I got to know girls from the other teams in the area and we all grew really close,” Knap said. “It was special to be on a starting line and feel like the people to your right and left were cheering for you.

“I’ve certainly come a long way since freshman year. I have never been the most talented athlete on the team, but I trusted my coach, and put in as much work as he would let me.

“I was able to stack together consistent healthy miles throughout my four years at SJO and more importantly enjoy doing it. I am grateful that I have experienced being both an alternate runner and a team captain, because it’s taught me how important each role is.”

The stress associated with the college recruiting process hit Knap full force during the 2020-21 school year.

“I got really anxious about the recruiting process during COVID,” she said. “It was my junior year and I felt like if I was going to find a good fit, I would need to make those connections/run fast times that year.

“However, we didn’t get a normal season and I didn’t have a developed profile to show coaches. I remember sending emails with my contact information to schools I was interested in and feeling so trapped.”

Knap took a different approach this school year.

“My senior year I decided to let all of that stress go and just enjoy the season and my team,” she said. “That was the best decision of my life.

“I enjoyed each day and the results were a product of me letting go and working hard for myself and my teammates instead of for a recruiter/college.

“I even told all the coaches that I was going to wait on visiting until after my cross-country season concluded so I could focus on enjoying the season.”

She was successful the majority of the time.

“Don’t get me wrong, there were certainly times this winter where I did feel pressured and stressed about making a decision, but I had a really good support system of people who helped remind me that I was in the driver’s seat,” Knap added.

Knap is excited as she looks ahead to the next chapter in her life.

“It’s definitely crazy to think that in a few months I am going to be close to 2,000 miles away from home,” she said. “And I know I am going to miss St. Joe and the people here, especially my teammates.

“But I know deep down that it’s uncomfortable because it’s going to push me out of my comfort zone and make me a better person. I am really looking forward to being uncomfortable.

“I know a lot of people on the West Coast who I am going to lean on when I need it.”

For all of the support and guidance she has received from coaches over the years, Knap is even more appreciative of the support and guidance of another individual.

“I owe a lot of my success to my mama (Kim Knap),” she said. “She sacrificed a lot to help me pursue the things I love.”