Big River Feature Story: Aimee Bonte

Big River Running Company co-owner Ben Rosario is now writing cross country and track articles for St. Louis Scoop Magazine. You can read his articles in the magazine as well. Ben caught up with Aimee this summer after a Big River Monday Morning School Run to discuss the upcoming cross country season as well as her big victory in the 3200 at the State Track Meet.

Watch Aimee in the 3200 at State HERE.

Watch Aimee in the 1600 at State HERE.

They say patience is a virtue and it was patience that paid off for Rockwood Summit junior Aimee Bonte at the Missouri State Track and Field Championships in Jefferson City . Bonte was the Class 4 girls 3200 meter champion after unleashing a blistering kick over the final 300 meters.

“My coach told me not to take the lead until I knew I wasn't going to give it back,” Bonte said.

Bonte stayed tucked in a large lead pack for nearly the entire race, only moving up to respond to surges from other runners. The pace picked up in the second mile of the eight lap race until only Caitlin Laskowski of Blue Springs , Ashley Mark of Lee's Summit North and Bonte remained in contention. Following her coach's advice Bonte went to the front and ran her last lap in 70 seconds for a winning time of 11 minutes, 10 seconds.

Bonte's coach, Matt Helbig, knows a little something about winning State Championships. Helbig was Rockwood Summit's first ever State Champion, winning the 800 meters in 1998. Helbig said that Bonte has the talent to go a long way in the sport.

“Aimee has all the tools to succeed at the next level,” Helbig said. “She has a very efficient stride, she has a ton of natural endurance and she has the foot speed to close fast at the end of a race.”

Bonte used that endurance and foot speed to close well in her second race at the State Championships, the 1600 meter run. She finished fourth in that race, running a personal best of 5:09 . Her only mistake in that race may have been letting the leaders get too far in front as she did make up ground on second and third but ran out of room on the homestretch. Lauren Borduin, of Rock Bridge , won the race in 5:01 .

“If I had anything I would change about what she did over the weekend it would have been to go with that lead pack in the mile,” Helbig said. “Really though, to come away from her first State Track Meet with one win, one fourth, and two personal bests is more than I could ever ask for. She ran awesome.”

A great all-around athlete with an older sister who played soccer, volleyball and ran cross country and an older brother who played football, soccer and ran track the odds were in Bonte's favor to be good at something. Turns out that the problem wasn't finding out what she was good at as she has excelled in cross country, basketball and soccer at Rockwood Summit, but rather what she liked best. Now, after winning the State Title in her first year of high school track, Bonte has decided that running is the sport she truly loves.

Of course, placing tenth at last fall's Cross Country State Meet probably helped. Bonte, whose team placed second, was one of the top runners in the area all season long and finished near the front of every race she ran. Bonte says it is the friends you make in cross country that she really enjoys.

“I remember going into freshman year that I didn't want to do cross country because I didn't think I could run three miles without stopping but my friends were doing it and they talked me into it,” Bonte said. “Now all my friends [on the team] and I really like running and going on runs together and just talking.”

Her family must like it too. Bonte's older sibling and her parents were all on hand to watch her cross the line first at State, an experience Bonte said was a memorable one.

“It was amazing,” Bonte said. “All the coaches and parents from Summit were in the stands and they were all cheering for me when I went by.”

Bonte may have enjoyed the attention from her family and friends but she tends to shy away from the limelight that often follows star student-athletes, even in high school. The soft-spoken senior-to-be even mentioned that she was worried about this article.

“I'm not really good at these things so I hope you have enough stuff,” Bonte said.

We had plenty. Bonte, who said that in a race she likes to speed up as she goes, is certainly picking up the pace heading into her senior year. Look for this quiet young lady to make quite a bit of noise this fall in cross country.

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