To junior Kiera Runske, it doesn’t matter what lacrosse field she is playing on – even if it’s carved into the middle of a cornfield in Hersey, Pennsylvania.

“They literally just cleared a 110 meter by 60 meter space and we got to play on it,” Runske said. “The field wasn’t very nice; it was recently mowed, and there were divots and holes all over the field, but it didn’t matter. We played some of the best teams in the country that day and went 5-0.”

Runske is in her eighth year playing lacrosse. According to Runkse, lacrosse is more than just the game; it is also the experiences she has.

“We got to go to Hershey Park as a team, and then we stayed in the little Valley Inn, the inn from the Gilmore Girls, and it was the coolest thing ever,” Runske said. “The best part is not exactly playing the sport and putting blood, sweat and tears into it. It’s what we get to do outside of it.”

On Sept.1, Runske was invited to her first official trip to Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt has a 12 percent acceptance rate and is the most academically-prestigious school in the Division I Southeastern Lacrosse Conference.

Runske arrived in Nashville on the afternoon of Sept.15 to visit the Vanderbilt campus.

“We walked into the airport, and live bands were singing—it was very Nashville,” Runske said. “We explored downtown Broadway, and on a Thursday night, it was packed with live music in every restaurant and bar.”

Vanderbilt women’s lacrosse captain Nellie Blaze took Runske on a tour of the campus.

“I got to see a day in their life; I toured the newly remodeled dorms, ate lunch in their big cafeteria, and watched one of their practices,” Runske said. “We got to see the locker room, and [the lacrosse players] were all singing and dancing and just having fun together.”

According to Runske, Vanderbilt “felt like home”.

“When I went up there, I fell even more in love with the school and the team,” Runske said. “I knew it was where I was meant to be. I loved the family feeling of the team and Nashville’s overall environment.”

Other universities, including Brown, Cornell, Denver, and Notre Dame, contacted Runske.

“There are better lacrosse schools that reached out to me that are higher on the rankings,” she said. “But it was more of a competitive feel, and I wanted it to feel like a family and to be enjoyable to play instead of feeling like a job.”

Runske said one of the main concerns she had was balancing work and school. Vanderbilt women’s lacrosse was named an Academic Honor Squad by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association in the 2021-22 academic year.

“That was one of the main questions I asked the captain, and she just said, ‘You have a whole team behind you of academic advisors and all of the older girls to help you pick your classes,’” Runske said. “‘Everything is balanced, and if there is a conflict, you have people behind you.’”

Runske joined her first lacrosse team in third grade and has played ever since.

“Funny story, our babysitter called off over Christmas break in third grade, and my mom needed something for us to do while she was working,” Runske said. “A neighbor said to ‘throw the kids in a lacrosse camp over break.’ We had never even heard of lacrosse.”

Bob Windsor, head coach of Jensen Beach girls lacrosse, coached the Runskes’ club team in the sixth grade.

“Before I started coaching her, my team played against her,” Windsor said. “It was an all-star team, one of the best middle-school teams of all time in Florida. We went through the whole tournament and only gave up one goal, and she scored that goal. I had told the girls before the game started, ‘That’s the girl you gotta stop,’ and we couldn’t.”

Runske was one of the youngest players on Windsor’s team.

“She was the smallest sixth-grader you can imagine, but she was determined,” Windsor said. “Playing up on a high-school team, she was not afraid of anybody; she would go up against the biggest girls on the team. She used to dart in and out of these big girls, and they could not stop her.”

According to Windsor, Runske is as good an athlete as she is a person.

“She is very respectful,” Windsor said. “I haven’t coached her in years, and she still reaches out to me to check in, see how I’m doing, or wish [me] happy holidays, things like that.”

Runske was chosen to play on Florida Select 2024, a club team Boca Ratón, Florida that is part of the American Select program. The team is currently ranked 9th in the country.

Gracey Haynes, junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, has been playing lacrosse with Kiera for a year and a half on Florida Select 2024.

 “When I first came to the team, all the new faces were overwhelming, but Kiera was always so friendly,” Haynes said. “One time on the field, she could tell I was nervous, and she came up to me and said, ‘Hey, it’s okay, you got this,’ and that gave me so much motivation.”

Runske practices at least 12 hours a week and had 43 goals at the end of the 2022 season.

“She has a crazy amount of grit and always has a positive attitude,” Haynes said. “She knows how to work hard but always keeps a good attitude. I’ve never heard Kiera complain about anything, and I look up to that. She knows what she needs to do and never lets up. Kiera is one of the hardest working people I know.”