Kayla Kass’ passion for running began long before she came to Stockton University.
But with the Ospreys, she’s developed into one of the best mid-distance runners in the country.
On Saturday, Kass finished eighth in the final of the women’s 800-meter run at the NCAA Division III indoor track and field championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She qualified for the final by setting a personal best of 2 minutes, 11.02. seconds in Friday’s preliminary race.
“She crushed the performance and ran a beautifully tactical race. She killed it,” Claire Incantalupo, who coaches Kass in cross country and in track and field, said Monday.
Competing on a national stage is the latest achievement for a sophomore who already is piling up achievements in both cross country and track and field.
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“I ran when I was younger,” Kass, a Bayonne resident, said Saturday. “My mom put me and my brother in the running program we had for our church. I think first or second grade I started, and I ran until like fifth grade. Then I stopped and I came back into it and started taking it really seriously in high school, around my junior year.”
Whether she was running or not running, Kass was always playing soccer. It was the sport she grew up loving. Running was her second sport. It wasn’t until her senior year at Bayonne High School that Kass fully committed to running, opting to run cross country instead of playing soccer.
“I honestly love running here,” she said of her Ospreys experience. “The team and the coaches — they’re all amazing people. (They’re) a really great support system too.”
Incantalupo sees all the work Kass puts into everything she does.
“It’s her determination and her motivation. She’s not only a phenomenal athlete, but she’s a phenomenal student-athlete. She’s very well rounded in the classroom, and I think she brings some of that confidence onto the track as well.”
A health science major who hopes to become a physical therapist, Kass has put together quite the resume in less than two years at Stockton.
She was the New Jersey Athletic Conference’s cross country Rookie of the Year in 2022 and was all-conference. Kass earned the first career individual win of her career in the 800 during the 2022-23 indoor season and made all-NJAC second team. She was the NJAC Rookie of the Year and a first-team member for the 2023 outdoor season after setting a Stockton 800 record at the time with a 2:12.07.
“I like to think track is my main thing, but I love cross country so much more,” Kass said. “Just because the team aspect of it. I love getting on the line with all of the girls starting together. You’re just closer with everyone. We use the word ‘girl’ to describe everything during cross country, and it’s just an awesome experience.”
The camaraderie among the girls is something Kass loves. It helps her keep focused and motivated. Even on the bad days, she said, “you can go to practice and be excited to run and just talk with the girls, and honestly just hang out.”
Kass hopes to continue to push herself during the spring season.
“I would love to break 2:10.00,” she said. “That’s the goal that I’m going after next.”
Nothing she accomplishes will surprise her coach.
“I feel she’ll continue to find success within the sport and continue finding success because she loves it,” Incantalupo said. “She gets nervous before she gets on the line, but once she’s on the line that’s when she’s the most confident in the sport and really just lays it all out there. My expectations really are just for her to continue loving it, brining that same energy she’s brought consistently, and her willingness to learn and continue growing.”
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