Although she is only a few weeks into her freshman year, Kaiya Robertson has already proven herself to be a talented student-athlete who will make her mark in Franklin athletics throughout the next four years. Robertson is a member of both the Varsity Cross Country team and the JV Gray Women’s Soccer team. She has been a soccer player for six years, but is relatively new to running.
Robertson plays midfield for the FHS JV Gray team, led by Coach Taylor Snider. “Kaiya is a great young athlete with a fierce work ethic,” says Snider. The team has a winning record so far this season and will be focusing on developing technical and tactical skills throughout the season. Robertson says she is greatly enjoying her time on JV Gray and hopes to improve her skills enough to move up in the women’s soccer program throughout her years at Franklin.
Robertson ran track and field for the FHS Middle School team in the spring of her eighth grade year. She had a fabulous season as a primarily 400 meter runner, and finished 6th in the 400m at the Middle School Meet of Champions with a time of 1:00.73. This year, she has already proven that she can tackle longer distances and has rapidly improved as the number three runner for the Franklin Women’s Cross Country team. In her first race of the season, a 3000m run at the Wilsonville Night Meet, Robertson finished 10th in the freshman race with a time of 12:04. This season, Robertson has also dropped her 5000m time by two minutes and ten seconds. She ran her latest 5k at the Oregon City Invitational in 20 minutes and 34 seconds, coming in 15th in the varsity race. “After not making it to the state championship meet last year, only the second time that has not happened in the last fourteen years, this team is on a mission,” says Cross Country coach Jacob Michaels. Michaels believes that Robertson will greatly improve the team’s chances of securing a top three finish at the district championship in late October, which would give them the opportunity to compete at the state meet in November.
“It’s a lot, but it’s working out pretty well,” says Robertson of her dual-sportsmanship. She is one of three dual-sport athletes who plays soccer and runs cross country at Franklin, and she plans to continue participating in both sports through her high school career. “I really like that [soccer is] a full team sport. You’re never completely doing something by yourself,” says Robertson. “And I haven’t done a lot of Cross Country [racing] yet, but I like doing well. When you do well in a race, you just feel so good, [especially] if you get a [personal record].” Both coaches praise Robertson for her commitment to her teams and believe her goofy and fun-loving personality benefits her teammates both on and off the field, as well as in and out of races.
“It all comes with a sense of flexibility from everyone involved and a good deal of mental strength from Kaiya herself,” notes Snider about Robertson’s dual-sportsmanship. Robertson has already demonstrated herself to be a fierce competitor, a great teammate, and a well-rounded and self motivated athlete in her short time here at Franklin, and she will definitely be a name to watch for in the coming years.
