It took years of running for Paris’ Mairyn Kinnaman to make Paris school history in just under 22 minutes.

The freshman was one of three runners, along with sophomore Alexandria Tullius and freshman Landen Chapman, that qualified for the state meet in the school’s first season in high school cross country. Kinnaman was the one to give Paris its first state medal as she finished 21st with a time of 21:51 on Saturday at the Class 1 meet at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia.

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Head coach Doug Buie started working with Kinnaman in 2017 when she joined the youth program he started a year prior. Ever since, she had been working toward a moment like Saturday.

“She has put in the hard work for 5-6 years now just running — always running, running on her own,” Buie said. “Words can’t express how happy I am for her.”

Kinnaman began around the top-25 as Buie said the projections had her. Statistically, it wasn’t a lock, but it was a certainty for Buie that was reinforced when Kinnaman moved up seven sports after falling to 28th at 2,000 meters.

“I kind of had her planned on medaling all year, and she did exactly what I wanted,” Buie said. “I couldn’t tell her that, but she got it and she’s just put a smile on my face all day.”

Kinnaman should be smiling, he said, when Buie has his head shaved as a result of a deal he made if at least one Coyote medaled. The freshman was all smiles following the Class 1 girls awards ceremony, when Buie was the one to drape the medal around her neck.

The expression remained affixed on Kinnaman’s face after she endured through her first season juggling softball and cross country during the fall season, she said. Making it on the podium felt like “a huge accomplishment.”

“All the hard work has really paid off,” Kinnaman said. “I also played varsity softball this entire year, and it’s been kind of a struggle to stay healthy and not battle through these injuries. I’m really proud of myself and the rest of my team for showing up today.”

Tullius and Chapman did show up, according to the numbers once again, Buie said. Tullius just missed the top 25 to medal by one spot, and by one second behind North Andrew’s Jaclyn Riedinger, with her time of 21:57.7. The mark was nothing to scoff at, however, as it is a personal-best for the sophomore, who moved from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, before the year.

In the boys 5K to wrap up the state championships, Chapman finished 55th with a time of 19:02.8 after being ranked in the 70s following the district meet.

After light rain in the morning and cold and windy conditions all day, Kinnaman and the rest of Coyotes were worried about the course, she said.

“I thought it was going to be a lot worse than it was,” Kinnaman said. “It was definitely muddy, but it’s always muddy at this course for some reason. So we kind of expected it to be muddy. I got tripped up maybe one or two times, but other than that, it wasn’t terrible.”

Paris feels as if it won’t get tripped up from this point forward as the program is expected to add enough kids for boys and girls team competitions as early as next year, Buie said. This optimism includes Kinnaman as she goes for more individual success but would like to succeed as a team as well.

“I’m hoping by next year that I’m top-15 maybe,” Kinnaman said. “I want to get farther up on the podium next year, if I possibly can.

“Everybody else in Paris, run cross country.”