Carroll College announced on Thursday that Columbia Falls High School senior Hannah Sempf, the reigning Class A state cross country champion, will continue her running career in Helena.
“We’re excited to welcome Hannah to Carroll because we know she brings experience as part of a program with a thriving positive culture and consistent success,” said Shannon Flynn, head cross country coach for Carroll. “Individually, it has just been so evident through the recruiting process that she will fit well with our girls and will immediately go to work and have a positive impact here.”
Sempf began running as a sophomore in high school and by her junior year had established herself as one of the top runners in Class A, never finishing lower than sixth in a race.
As a senior, Sempf finished top three in all but one race last fall, a season that culminated in the individual crown and Columbia Falls’ first girls team title. Her season best time for a 5,000-meter cross country race is 19 minutes and 38 seconds.
Columbia Falls’ last individual cross country champion, Samantha Mundel (2014) also competed for Carroll and earned multiple top-ten finishes at the NAIA national championships in both indoor and outdoor track.
