German's victory became exchange-family affair
By GRANT OVERSTAKE
Star-Journal Editor
The Rohners back in Germany weren't sure what the hubbub was all about Saturday, when they got word that their daughter, Lisa, had placed third overall and led her team to a second place finish at the Class 1A state cross country meet, in Wamego, Kan., USA.
Lisa's parents were too far away to know exactly how big of a deal it was, but Rohner's host family from Goessel made up for that by cheering her along, and celebrating big-time when she crossed the finish line.
Rohner, a junior foreign exchange student, is living with Carol Duerksen and Maynard Knepp on their farm northeast of Goessel.
"I didn't know I could be so nervous as a host dad until I saw 90 girls line up to race," Knepp said. "The gun went off, and our Lisa immediately shot to the front, going up the hill. I was sure she would kill herself by being at the front right away."
Maynard and Carol stationed themselves at different parts of the race course, and called each other on their cell phones.
"We were saying 'She's still in the lead!' " he said.
Carol's family had planned a family vacation for this past weekend, so when they found out that Lisa would be running at state on the Goessel team, they moved the party to Wamego.
"Our exchange student had grandparents, host parents, aunts, uncles, a niece, and nephews all cheering her on and celebrating with her," Carol said. "I could have cried when I saw her coming through to the finish line, I was so proud of her."
