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Kennedie Rhein - Owasso High School - Class of 2023

  • Shelby Kihega on Instagram

Best Performances (Click for Link to Official Results):
 

800:

2:30 (4x800m Relay Split) - July 7th, 2019 - All-American AAU Junior Olympics Games 

2:30.39 - April 25th, 2019 - Frontier Conference Meet

2:33.90 - June 15th, 2019 - USATF Oklahoma State Championships

 

1500:

5:15.59 - June 30th, 2019 - AAU Junior Olympics Region 16 Championships

5:19.96 - July 30th, 2019 - AAU Junior Olympics National Championships 

5:20.70 - May 25th, 2019 - Association Youth Outdoor Championship

 

1600:

5:36.02 - April 5th, 2019 - 2019 Pioneer Relays - Stillwater, OK

 

3200:

12:46.71 - May 4th, 2019 - OSSAA 6A Regional Championships

 

5K:

19:39 - November 2nd, 2019 - State Edmond Santa Fe

20:32 - August 24th, 2019 - The Field Run Classic

21.22.3 - October 5th, 2019 - Chili Pepper Cross Country Festival

 

 

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Sports Participated in and Honors Received:

Soccer: started in kindergarten and played through sophomore year of high school

XC & Track: started in 7th grade 

2018 Rookie of the Year: Jenks High School Cross Country 

2018 Academic All-Conference Award: Cross Country 

2019 AAU Junior Olympics National Championships All-American - 4x800m Relay

2019 AAU Junior Olympics National Championships Qualifier - 1500m

2019 Athlete of the Week: Jenks High School Cross Country

2019 Academic All-Conference Award: Cross Country

2019 Cross Country All-State Honorable Mention - 13th place

2019 OSSAA 6A Cross Country Team State Champions

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GPA - ACT Score - Class Ranking:

GPA- 3.4



College Majors interested in studying:

Occupational Therapy

Physical Therapy

Health Sciences



Personal Story of overcoming adversity, including lessons learned and character gained through the experience...

When I was a freshman, I would get shin splints a lot, I would run a long run and after finishing my shins would always hurt, and the main reason was that I wasn’t stretching at all like I was supposed to.  Thankfully my shins kept strong for the cross country season although we got 4th place which devastated us.  Then track season came along and my shins got bad, I still planned to run regionals and hopefully make it to state.  My first event was the 3200m, I have never run the 2 miles before and as soon as we started I regretted it, every time my feet touched the ground it felt like a sharp knife in my shin, I lost and didn’t qualify for state, my next event was the 800 and just like the 2 mile I lost and with that lost my place on the 4x8 team.  I was absolutely devastated with the fact I wasn’t going to run at state, I was gonna have to watch my teammates run the races I could have run if not for my shins.  Then I met Coach Eric and he helped me believe in myself and gave me time to heal and recover, he was a big reason why my sophomore year became 1000 times better.  It showed me that no matter the hardships you have gone through, there will always be that light at the end of the tunnel, that reason to keep fighting for the dream you want to accomplish, and thanks to that I have become a more confident person and runner!



Express what you hope to do with an opportunity to be a scholarship-student-athlete.  What you hope to give a team and accomplish in college as we'll as what you hope to do with your education and how that big step of completing a degree will lead toward your long term goals...

When my mom introduced me to running in 7th grade I fell absolutely in love, I loved meeting new people and going to different places to run and compete.  I was a very competitive child and wanted to gain a scholarship in either running or soccer, I was in a crossroads at that time and didn’t know what I loved more.  But now I know what I want to work towards and that’s to gain a scholarship. Through my years of running, I have been able to become stronger as well as learn more about running and what was best for me.  If I got an opportunity to run in college I would not waste the time and hard work to show them I deserve it, I have thankfully been able to run with people who push me every day and to be able to experience that with great runners throughout the country would be such a big inspiration for me.  I want to be able to learn new things from people around me and to also live through the different experiences that come my way.  I want to be able to show who I am as a runner to the people around me and show them that I got here through my hard work and dedication.

 


Coach Hudgens bio and insights on Shelby Kihega...

Shelby has a contagious smile and thrives on encouragement.  We all need encouragement, support, a sense of hope -- when life thrusts us into opportunities that can overwhelm us, but with some guidance we can respond to the challenge well, we can rise to the occasion and perhaps even surprise ourselves.  In those times hopefully we have a coach, a mentor, a person that sees greatness in us and believes in our future more than we do.  That's been a great joy being a small part of Shelby's journey, in critical times pushing her toward her potential and her courageously responding to the nudge of a coach, a teammate, a parent, a friend, a fan.  Shelby has an intrinsic deep desire to dedicate herself towards developing her body into the best runner she can be.  Thankfully, she's just as internally willing and open to growing into becoming the best person she can be.  Together, her pursuit of personal sporting excellence and her passion for the people she shares sport with makes for a very special presence and powerful impact on the communities she shares running with.

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