By Kyle McCaskey

This past week was filled with mixed emotions for Eldon Edwards, Derby cross country head coach. He saw three members of his girls’ team sign to run cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field in college. 

Emily Hornbeck, Amber Green and Lindsay Cuadra each signed to compete for four-year universities this past week.

Edwards was proud of the girls, but it represented the final ties to the team’s 2008 6A state championship squad.

“Bittersweet is a good way to put it,” he said. “Bitter because I’d like to keep them for a little longer, but it’s pretty sweet, just with what they’ve been able to do since they’ve been here. It’s pretty remarkable.”

Along with the 2008 state title, Derby finished no worse than eighth as a team during the trio’s tenure the past four seasons. This past season, the Panthers were the regional champions and placed sixth at state.

Hornbeck signed to run at Wichita State University. Laura Burke, who was also a member of the 2008 state title team at Derby, currently runs for the Shockers. Hornbeck said getting to run with Burke again influenced her decision, as well as staying close to home.

Hornbeck placed fourth individually at the state meet this year – the highest finish for a girl in Derby history. She was also the regional and Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail League Division I champion. 

She wants her past performances to inspire another generation of top Derby runners.

“I’m just hoping that we can bring some middle schoolers in, and they can follow us. I want the team to do just as well,” Hornbeck said. 

Edwards said running for a Division I school will require more work, but Hornbeck is capable of making it happen.

“(The Wichita State coaches) came here, and were very up front and very honest. They really wanted Emily,” Edwards said. “She knows that she is going to be asked to get to the next level. She’s got to be able to do that.”

Green and Hornbeck leave behind a storied history. Both medaled four times at the state meet, entering the record books together as the only Derby girls to accomplish that feat. 

Green placed 15th at state, fourth at regionals and third in the AVCTL meet this season. She signed with Pittsburg State. Green said other members of her family have graduated from there, and her future teammates were inviting.

Typically side-by-side at the top of the pack, next year will mark the first time in years that Green and Hornbeck are separated.

“I’m sad that I’m not going to be running with her. The past six years I haven’t really known anything else,” Green said. “I don’t think people understand – it’s just cross country to some people, it’s just running, but it’s so much more.”

Cuadra rounded out the signings, committing to Emporia State. Along with cross country, she is a basketball and track manager, as well as a member of National Honor Society. 

This year, Cuadra was 11th in the AVCTL, 13th at regionals and 71st at state. She was an alternate on the 2008 state team, and said that was her favorite cross country memory.

“It was amazing to get to be there, and that feeling of accomplishment with them,” Cuadra said. “It’s really sad we’re going different places, but I’m really proud of everyone. It’s really nice that all of us are getting the opportunity to do something in college.”

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