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“Kelsey has been a big part of our program, she has played varsity for four years and has dedicated a lot of time to making herself and our team better,” Von Stein said. “Kelsey and Macy are both competitive and strive to be the best at whatever they are doing. This year it has been fun to watch them push each other.”

Kelsey held off her sister last week, placing ninth in the Frontier League cross country meet at Rim Rock Farm in 17 minutes and 13 seconds.

Macy was right on her tail, however, finishing 12th in 17:23.

“I thought my sister was going to beat me in the last mile,” Kelsey said. “I was going to have to trip her if she went by. I’m just kidding.

“It is nice to be running with her and have someone pushing you every day,” she said. “To have your sister doing that, it is pretty cool.”

While her times are safe for now, Kelsey knows it is a matter of time before Macy takes aim at her high school marks.

“She is farther along in her running than I was my freshman year,” Kelsey said. “So, that is good for Spring Hill.”

Running with her sister has been a dream come true, Macy said.

“I have been looking forward to this year for a long time,” she said. “This has been an awful lot of fun. We spend a lot of time together, running in the morning and playing volleyball in the afternoon.”

The Carbajo sisters bring a lot to not only the cross country team, but also the school, coach Rick O’Neil said.
“Kelsey and Macy are very competitive. They are leaders in the classroom as well as our team,” he said. “Kelsey will be extremely missed next year.”

Saturday puts the Carbajo family in a dilemma with the cross country regional and volleyball substate both scheduled for the afternoon.

As the clock strikes 11:11 Saturday morning, Kelsey will ask for one last wish for rain. There has been quite a bit of it this month, but she is going to be asking for more showers packing a little lightning.

“You make a wish at 11:11,” Carbajo said. “I wish for it to rain Saturday. It is 11:11, good luck, you make a wish.”

Due to an ACT test in the morning Saturday, the regional cross country meet, normally run in the morning, has been moved to the afternoon for the second year in a row.

“It’s going to rain anyway that day, duh,” Kelsey said. “It makes no sense. None of the athletes are taking the test that day. The first thing coaches do when they see the ACT scheduled for the same day is tell you not to take the test that day.”

Kelsey plays both sports, but she has always put volleyball and her teammates first.

She was a state medalist her sophomore year at Wamego and because of scheduling conflicts with regional cross country and substate volleyball, has been unable to run the last two years.

Cross country is at Wyandotte Park in the afternoon. The girls run at 3:30 p.m. and the boys at 4:30 p.m. The volleyball susbtate tournament on the Broncos’ home court in Spring Hill starts at 2 p.m.

Even though her chances to qualify for state and run down another medal are very good, Kelsey will play volleyball and set her individual cross country goals aside.

This year her loyalty to them may have the whole bunch headed to Salina for a different state event — the Class 4A state volleyball tournament.

“The seniors are excited that they get to host substate their last year,” Von Stein said. “The four seniors have been a part of the varsity the last four years and have all put in a lot of time to put us in a good situation for substate.

“Kelsey has always been selfless and put the volleyball team ahead of her own goals in cross country,” Von Stein said. “The rest of the girls on the volleyball team support Kelsey and are also understanding when she misses practice due to cross country. They are a team that supports each other and doesn’t care about who gets the credit, and that is a big part of why we are having a successful season.”

Kelsey and Macy are the daughters of Tom and Janel Carbajo of Spring Hill.

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