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Daniell LaFleur, an eigth-grader from Mannheim Middle School, pulls away from Kelsey Collier of Ramstein for a solid victory in the girls cross country meet in Vogelweh, near Kaiserslautern, on Set. 20. LaFleur's win did not count because she was competing in an exhibition status.

Daniell LaFleur, an eigth-grader from Mannheim Middle School, pulls away from Kelsey Collier of Ramstein for a solid victory in the girls cross country meet in Vogelweh, near Kaiserslautern, on Set. 20. LaFleur's win did not count because she was competing in an exhibition status. (Ben Bloker / S&S)

MANNHEIM, Germany — Anyone who wants to see a little bit of the future of high school cross country in Europe should keep an eye on Saturday morning’s race in Baumholder.

Baumholder High School is scheduled to be the latest venue for Mannheim Middle School eighth-grader Daniell LaFleur to show her running skills. All she has done in the last two meets she’s run against high schoolers this season is place first in one and second in the other.

Neither result counted, however. Eighth-graders are exhibition runners only under DODDS-Europe rules, ineligible to earn points for their teams or medals for themselves.

"It’s a little bit frustrating," LaFleur, 13, said before a recent Mannheim practice session. "I can’t wait until next year when my scores will count."

The 5-foot-2 LaFleur opened her season Sept. 13 at Wiesbaden, where she fell but still finished fourth behind Frankfurt International School’s Natalie Pecorano and Ramstein’s Elizabeth Doe and Kelsey Collier.

On Sept. 20, LaFleur covered the 5,000-meter course at Kaiserslautern in 20 minutes, 51 seconds, two seconds faster than the No. 1 high school girl, Collier, and three seconds ahead of Doe, No. 8 overall at last October’s European championships. LaFleur’s nearest middle school rival was a full four minutes behind her.

Last Saturday, LaFleur completed a heavily wooded home course in 20:55. Even though she finished a half-minute behind Pecorano, she crossed the finish line a full 1:21 ahead of the high-school runner-up, Alison Ochoa of Wiesbaden.

"She’s very talented," said Mannheim volunteer assistant coach Steven Gibson, a soldier who hails from Leesville, La. "She runs with my (high school) boys."

She’s also ambitious. If you’re just 13 and in possession of that much talent, you can afford to dream big.

"I’m going to try to get a scholarship somewhere," she said of her promising future. "I’d like to make it to the Olympics."

Gibson coached LaFleur last year and had his seventh-grader running the 800, 1,500, 3,000 meters and doing the high jump during track season. He said LaFleur was devastated when she couldn’t run the 3,000 when the meet rolled around.

"She almost cried when I pulled her from the two-mile," Gibson said. "That’s her baby — the longer the better."

LaFleur backed up her coach’s words. Asked which she preferred, cross country or flat running, her response was immediate.

"Cross country," she said firmly. "It’s harder."

Her parents are avid runners and she began accompanying them at age 5. LaFleur said she can’t wait until she reaches a level of competition that will let her run the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

"I’d like to try the marathon when I’m 16 or 17," she said about that ultimate cross country event.

In the meantime, she’s confined to exhibition status, waiting until next year. She’ll be wearing the Mannheim colors for real then, and vying for a European championship.

"I understand the need for rules," Gibson said about LaFleur’s exclusion from the leaders’ table, "but it hurts my heart to see her do so well and not have it count."

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