Cory Keehn has battled and fought for all the success he has had in cross country and track and last Saturday, November 21^st he finished off his college cross country career by finishing 13^th at the NCAA Division II Championships to earn All-American status.

The former Jackson Heights Cobra has battled adversity in his life when he had to have surgery to have a cancerous tumor removed from the front right part of his brain when he was only in the eighth grade. Keehn relied upon his faith in God to push him through the tough time and to this day gives the glory to God for his ability and success. He faced more adversity during his high school career with a stress fracture, pneumonia and more but behind his faith battled through those obstacles, too.

“While that was a difficult part in my life, I see now how God used that to mold me to shape my character and to inspire and encourage people I’m around. So that played a huge role even into my running career as distance running is mostly a mental sport. It takes some physical talent, but mostly it requires a lot of mental strength to stay focused to push yourself even when you’re hurting. So yeah, my faith has been a huge part of that. God likes to see us use these areas in our life that we enjoy and love to encourage people and to witness to them and show others his love and kindness. Running has been that avenue for me throughout college and even now going on beyond college,” said Keehn.

Keehn who won the 2A high school State cross country title in Kansas his sophomore year, went on to college at Fort Hays State University and has continued to blossom as a man, showcasing his perseverance, dedication and faith. Last Saturday behind a time of 30:06.8 Cory finished 13^th at the National cross country Championships and earned All-American status, capping off his college cross country career.

“Pretty remarkable feeling, I’ve been chasing that for four and half years. You know, it’s pretty easy to get overwhelmed with chasing down statuses and titles and records. One thing I’ve learned in my career is that those things are great, but if that’s all you pursue it will leave you empty. So, I’ve always ran for more than titles and places; I’ve ran to glorify God and to inspire other people. Earning the All-American status was just kind of the icing on the cake,” said Keehn.

During his time at Fort Hays State he’s earned All-Region honors three times and All-MAIA three times, while this year taking 13^th at Nationals and finishing sixth or better in every other race this year, including second at Regionals with a time of 29:51, one of only two guys to finish under 30 minutes.

Cory’s passion for running started at a young age and even runs in the family as his dad, Gary Keehn was a great runner at Jackson Heights setting multiple records. While his college cross country career has come to a close the doors continue to open for Keehn as he has been invited to be a part of a private cross country and track team the Kansas City Smokes. As a member of the team he will run in the Club National Cross Country meet in two weeks in California and at the National USA Cross Country Championships in February. The opportunities don’t stop there for Cory as he has been invited to the last qualifying race for the USA half marathon Championships. The race will take place in Houston, Texas in January and Cory is one of only 30 runners invited to compete in the event.

Keehn has also found success in the distance events in track for FHSU also and qualified for Nationals in both indoor and outdoor meets just missing out on All-American status on the track for the Tigers. He also has excelled in the classroom earning All-Academic honors while at FHSU.

Behind his faith, dedication, perseverance and attitude Keehn continues to inspire and encourage people through his running.