Three-season athlete, Emily Konkus, is finishing up her senior year with hopes to once again be the individual State Champion for cross-country. The cross-country team has won States for the last three years.
Assistant Varsity coach Adam Hittner said, “Emily is an exceptional runner, with a combination of talent, desire, and competitiveness that makes her special.”
Konkus has been on the varsity cross-country team since freshman year and has competed in indoor and outdoor track since freshman year. Not only is Konkus a leader on the trail but she was voted a captain by her teammates, “Emily Konkus is one of the best leaders I know; she is very considerate of everyone’s feelings and makes sure that everyone feels included,” Brooke Wilson (’20), a member of the cross-country team, said.
Winning consecutive State Championships takes a lot of work, one of the hardest workouts of the year is Falls Roads hills. Overall, the workout is 10 miles long, with three half mile hills in the middle of the workout. The team also works a lot on the Hereford cross-country course, to get familiar with it so when the state meet comes they are prepared.
“What makes Konkus such a good runner is a combination of hard work, natural talent, and her persistence, especially during our hard workouts,” Wilson said.
Differing from last year, Konkus trains with the boys’ cross-country team, which, “keeps me motivated and ensures that there is always someone to chase,” Konkus said.
“There are very few runners in the mid-Atlantic area that can give her a good race, and a very limited number that can beat her,” Hittner said.

Besides attending cross-country races, Konkus enjoys hanging out with her teammates, especially at their pasta parties, which are held the night before a big race. Balancing her school work and her cross-country responsibilities requires time management and a lot of hard work.
“Konkus is the one of the hardest worker I’ve ever met, whether it’s staying up insanely late the night before a race completing her school work or being involved in just about everything yet still being able to keep herself together and her life balanced,” Emily Francis, Varsity girls’ co-captain said.
The cross-country team has only had two races so far this year, County Relays and the annual Bull Run, hosted by John Roemer, the girls Varsity coach. Konkus placed first at County Relays and seventh at the annual Bull Run, which was held on Sept. 22.
The team isn’t without their superstitions. Before every race the team does the same cheer, and they always wear colored ribbons featuring Hereford’s color in the hair. Konkus also has her own superstitions; she listens to the same song before every race to pump her up and to get mentally prepared.
Konkus hopes to continue her running career in college but is not yet committed.