A year ago, when she won the NCAA 3,000m steeplechase, she'd only run that event four times before.

"That was most the fun in a race she's ever had, and it meant a lot to her," Kathy said.

That drive isn't always a plus. Kathy said her daughter sometimes expects too much of herself: "She's always been a determined little girl. Her brothers and sisters would sometimes tell her to lighten up a little. But the fact she's so determined makes her the winner she is. She doesn't like to complain and that can go to a fault at times because nobody knows she's hurting. She can be a little too driven."

And some of us have trouble getting off the couch.

What makes Kassi Andersen tick? A kind of atomic clock of sorts. Too bad we all can't have it. She's got it, a sort of overdrive gear. Chances are, she could probably take it off the track and apply it to anything, from gardening to the stock market.

Grandpa Rector must be pleased. His sermon definitely soaked in with Kassi.

---

E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com