Bishop Chatard's Kate Muskat finished sixth in the 100-meter dash, seventh in the 200 and tied for seventh in the high jump as a freshman at last year's Lawrence North Regional.

With the top three finishers in each event qualifying for the 2005 state meet, Muskat can't help but wonder now what she might have accomplished had she been completely healthy on the day of the regional.

"It was bad timing because I had the flu," Muskat said. "(The night before the regional) I was getting the flu, and the next day it really hit me. It was kind of hard to compete with that. I was kind of disappointed with the timing of it all. Hopefully this year it will be better timing for me and my health."

Her disappointment at not reaching the state meet aside, Muskat is pleased with how she performed as a freshman. She finished second in the 200 at the sectional behind eventual state champion Jeanne Roberts of Lawrence Central. Muskat also took third in the high jump and fourth in the 100 at the sectional. Muskat was the anchor on the City championship 400-meter relay team and broke school records in the high jump and 200.

"Obviously, she's very gifted athletically," said Chatard coach Dan Kinghorn. "On top of that, she's a very, very hard worker and a great teammate. Things like that are what really separate her."

Sprint running has always come instinctively for Muskat, who lives in Broad Ripple with her parents, Jan and Jerry, and older sister, Lauren, a senior captain on the Chatard lacrosse team. Muskat began training with Lauren's fourth-grade track team as a second-grader.

"I was always trying to work out with my sister when she started track in fourth grade," Muskat said. "My dad asked if I could run with them. I liked being out there. I liked running. It's always been natural."

Muskat spent much of the past offseason training with junior teammate Ebony Robinson, another of the Trojans' top sprinters, and started the season strong by winning the 55-meter dash in Class A-3A division of the March 18 NSR Indoor Classic, the unofficial indoor state finals.

"I feel much stronger and more focused this year," Muskat said. "I trained harder in the offseason. I hope my results this year show that."

Muskat will continue to run the sprints and anchor the relay, but she's made a switch from competing in the high jump to the long jump. The move was made, in part, because of Muskat's sprinting and jumping ability, but there was also some strategy involved in the switch.

"It's a shorter event than the high jump," Muskat explained. "The high jump can go on throughout the whole meet, so it's sort of a strategy to conserve energy throughout the whole meet."

Muskat is hoping that strategy pays off, and she can take the next step, should she reach the regional again this year. It's something she feels more confident about than she did as a freshman.

"At first it was really overwhelming just to be (at the regional as a freshman), but now that I've been there, I feel like I know what to expect this year," Muskat said.

Although Muskat is the team's top point scorer, Kinghorn likes the Trojans' depth this year. Chatard, ranked 18th in the state coaches poll, has a strong distance runner in junior Amy Davis. Junior Kelly Gardner has performed well in the discus. Juniors Maggie Cappel and Annie Barnes look strong in the 800 and 400, respectively. Senior captain Katie Reed adds depth in all three relays.

Chatard will race today at the Royal Relays, set for 10 a.m. at Hamilton Southeastern.