For four years, Kats footfalls were an important rhythm of her high school experience. The slapping of running shoes on the track was both inspiring and comforting for the captains of Longmeadows championship cross-country team.

Shea Hamels youth wasnt easy. There had been acute arthritis as a toddler, near kidney failure as an adolescent, and struggles with anorexia as a high school sophomore. Senior year had blessedly seemed like a window to a future that was previously hard to imagine.