48 AUGUST 2017 ARCAD A NEWS By Laura Stoddard Heather was a precocious Valley youngster who wanted two things: to go to Catholic School and play golf. She would achieve both of these desires with her admittance to Xavier College Preparatory and making the golf team. This accomplishment also put wheels into motion that would result in a beautiful friendship and an unbreakable bond, now spanning four decades, between two women brought together by both loss and triumph. Those women are Heather’s sister, Missy Farr-Kaye, and Sister Lynn Winsor, the coach who guided both of them at Xavier. Missy recalls her first encounter – as a sixth grader – with the energetic and inspiring Sister Lynn. “Sister Lynn was wearing a track suit and Nike shoes and I remember being shocked that she was a nun and the golf coach,” Missy said. Heather exceled as an athlete and showed an amazing talent for golf. With her on the team, Xavier’s standings in the sport soared. Two years later, Missy started at Xavier, showing an equally impressive gift and drive for golf. During Sister Lynn’s time coaching the sisters, she became very close to their family. “I really got to be friends with all the girls and their families,” said Sister Lynn. “We’re like a family within a family. They were a fun group of kids. Maybe sometimes a little too much fun.” Missy echoes the sentiment, “As a coach, she made being on the team fun, but she also taught us to be tough and compete hard. Never give up!” Never would Sister Lynn’s words be truer than when Heather, that fun-loving, athletically gifted student, now a woman, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Finding themselves battling the greatest of all foes, Sister Lynn and the Farr family grew extremely close. They leaned heavily on values that had always sustained and fortified them, namely faith and family. Heather would lose her battle with cancer, and the disease would take her father several years later. Missy would even fight her own battle with cancer. “Mrs. Farr and Missy and I continue to have a great friendship,” Sister Lynn says. “Even through their loss, they’ve been valiant and strong.” Fast forward to today; Missy Farr-Kaye is the head women’s golf coach at Arizona State University, with multiple national championships under her belt, both as a competitor and a coach, and Sister Lynn is Xavier’s athletic director, a role she’s proudly and willingly held since 1979. Despite differing roles and ages and backgrounds, Missy and Sister Lynn developed profound respect and appreciation for one another during their 40 years as friends. And it all started with a girl named Heather, who wanted to go to Catholic school and play golf. Summer heat doesn’t slow down Arcadia’s cross-country team Golf and Catholic school spawn 40-year friendship Arcadia athletes have big smiles after qualifying for the state meet. Runners hope to repeat the same success this year. (Left to right) Missy Farr-Kaye, Jaime Casap (Google’s Chief Education Evangelist), and Sister Lynn Winsor, BVM (Xavier’s Vice Principal for Activities and Athletic Director) from a Xavier event at which both Ms. Farr-Kaye and Mr. Casap spoke to 800+ guests and then to our student body of 1,200+ young women. By Rachael Bouley Arcadia High School Cross-Country runners are gearing up for what they hope will be their best season yet. Under the seasoned leadership of Coaches Carl Tichenor and Sarah Boustila, the Titans have their eyes on the prize: another trip to the state championship meet. Coming off their strong spring season, where both the boys and girls track teams made it to state for the first time in seven years, they haven’t let the summer heat slow them down. Early-morning group runs twice a week and strength and conditioning sessions have allowed athletes to keep the momentum going, striving to stay on track for personal bests as the season approaches. “My hope is that this translates to improved times across the board running 5K cross country,” Tichenor said. “It’s always an objective of mine to help train each runner to reach levels of achievement beyond what they’ve done in the past and run personal bests each time they compete.” With all of their top runners returning, the upcoming season looks bright. This spring, Boys’ Team Captain Dallas Green, Luis Cerna and Ben Waggener achieved personal best performances in the 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters. “Summer training is going great. Last year’s cross- country season was the first time I ever ran,” said Cerna. “Now, I think I am going to be a big step ahead of last year.” Approximately 15 boys and 15 girls will lace up for cross country this fall, including some new runners that show great promise for the future. “Since runners come with varying abilities, we try to instill a high level of camaraderie among teammates by having runners who finish ahead of others in practice clap loudly and cheer collectively as each of the slower runners finish the training run. It’s motivating and inspiring,” Tichenor said. Boustila’s goals for this year include having fun, improving all returning student- athletes race times from last year, and to being competitive at the district, conference and state meets. “The team is like a big family,” Boustila said. “I have noticed ‘best friend’ relationships blossom. All the kids are very supportive to each other no matter their ability or grade level. They chose to hang out with one another outside of our team time together.” The teams have 13 meets this year, with their competitive season kicking off on August 30 at Notre Dame Preparatory in Scottsdale.