The 5-foot-8 junior won the Kansas State Cross Country Championships Class 6A title this past season, breaking the tape in 17:32.70 to lead the Cougars to fourth place as a team. Her state meet clocking earned her the Timmons Award for the fastest time of the 3A-5A-6A state title races. Born went on to win the Nike Cross Nationals Heartland Regional championships with a personal-best 5K time of 16:49.30, qualifying for the NXN Final. At the NXN national meet, she crossed the line 23rd out 199 runners, falling short of All-American honors by 0.9 seconds.
Born has maintained a 4.61 weighted GPA in the classroom. She will begin her senior year of high school this fall.
An assistant meet manager for a local youth cross country event, Born has participated in a service mission trip to Guatemala on behalf of her church. "With Molly, there is no off day," said Shawnee Mission Northwest head coach Van Rose. "She churns out consistent efforts and consistent results. She sees every day as an opportunity to get better and she does all the little things to accomplish great things."
