Emily Kaegi knows what is most important during the cross country season.

It's the postseason. The regular season is always important, but not nearly as important as the races in late October and early November. It's one area in which she shares the same mind set as her coach.

The Mount Greylock junior had a solid regular season, but proved that she was the All-Transcript MVP in the postseason.

"I'd label her as the queen of the postseason," Mount Greylock coach Larry Bell said. "Last season, she was not the star of the league at all. But once those championship banners come out, she is just incredible. The same with this year. She might not have been the top in the league, but she just distanced herself when the postseason came around."

She didn't have a bad regular season. She ran to two first-place finishes this season. The only other North County runner to do that was Hoosac Valley's Kalyn Alibozek. Kaegi never finished worse than second in a Berkshire County race.

She finished second in the Western Massachusetts Division II meet and took 22nd at the state meet -- both Berkshire County bests. She helped pace the team to a second-place finish at Western Mass. and a seventh-place finish at states. The result at states was the top finish of any Berkshire County team.

Her postseason success wasn't anything new this year. She won the Western Mass. crown in 2011.

"It just seems like everything comes

While she normally sticks to a strict training regiment in the summer time, this year was different. She took a summer job as a camp counselor that kept her busy and limited her time to train. It challenged her early in the season, but she was able to get into running shape by season's end.

She not only performs well in the fall season, but she also stars as a key member on the girls' track team in the spring. Although cross country is an individual sport, Kaegi helped make the Mounties a strong team throughout the year. Greylock rolled to an 11-3 record this season, good enough to claim third in the North Division.

"She's really been the heart of the team," senior Kat Chenail said. "When she came on the team her eighth grade year, she instantly became the core of the team. She was able to hold everyone together and really helped everyone.

"She really has been a main reason we've had the success that we have had."

It's not just the way she performs on race day that makes her so valuable to the Mounties. She also has a knack for studying the sport she loves.

"I think she just has a lot of drive and will to be really good, which is key in running," Chenail said. "It's about working hard, but at the end of the day it's about who wants it more. I don't think you will find anyone who wants to be better than Emily."

Kaegi reads up on running techniques and ways to stay in shape and is always looking to challenge herself. She spends much of her free time looking for new work outs and trying to improve her technique."She reads the journals and really understands the training techniques," Bell said. "She leads with her knowledge and she is just all positive. She really is able to help the other kids out."

Kaegi reads up on running techniques and ways to stay in shape and is always looking to challenge herself. She spends much of her free time looking for new work outs and trying to improve her technique."She reads the journals and really understands the training techniques," Bell said. "She leads with her knowledge and she is just all positive. She really is able to help the other kids out."

An athlete that takes the initiative to study their sport and have the drive to improve on their own can go a long way toward helping a coach.

"She's kind of the whole package in terms of a coach's dream," Bell said. "She's the type of kid that makes a coach look good. You put a goal out there and she just goes out there and does it."

2012 All-Transcript Girls' Cross Country Team

Team members are listed in no particular order.	Kat Chenail Mount Greylock "She's probably been the most overlooked and under-rated runner in Berkshire County for the last four years. Most people have no clue who Kat Chenail is, yet there is no better person to build a team around." - coach Larry Bell	Laura Galib Mount Greylock "She really set the tone early in the season. ... She pulled our pack together all season long. We just found out that she ran with mono for the last half of the season, and she still ran well." - coach Larry Bell	Amalia Leamon Mount Greylock "She's one of those kids that is just a tremendous sprinter. As much as we are an individual sport, Amalia was a big part of helping Jenna and the team have really great races." - coach Larry Bell	Jenna Phelps Mount Greylock ""I didn't know anyone could run on half of a leg, but that's what she did. She battled injuries all season. ... It really came together for her at the state meet. She ran a PR by about a minute." - coach Larry Bell
Zoe Loughman McCann Tech "She made me a better coach by being curious. ... She was always the first one back after practice and the last one to finish stretching. Zoe lead by example." - coach Todd Hamilton	Tia Brown Drury "[In her first season] she finished in the top 25 in almost every race this season - she had one 26th - but other than that she was up there all season long." - coach Jim Buffoni	Hannah Folino Hoosac Valley "She was a surprise in terms of the excellence she acquired so fast. I knew she was a good runner with a good head on her shoulders ... From last cross country season to this season, the jump she made was incredible." - coach Ron Namislo	Sydnee Gallup Hoosac Valley "She made a promise that she would like to be this good again. ... She had to push herself and really concentrate on her race and passing people. That's what helped her." - coach Ron Namislo	Kalyn Alibozek Hoosac Valley "Hannah really improved from a year ago. ... She's another one that works so hard. At the end of every race, I know she has just given me everything that she has to give." - coach Ron Namislo

To reach Sam Monroe, email
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On Twitter: @NAT_DigitalSam