Senior Mollee Karst has played soccer and cross-country in the fall, basketball in the winter, and track and field in the spring. During the summer, she played on traveling teams for soccer and basketball.
Karst found success early in her high school career. She spent five seasons with the Aberdeen soccer team, which has a cooperative with Central and Roncalli high schools. Karst played some varsity soccer as a sophomore and spent the last two seasons as a starter. Her running career also started early in junior high and high school. In basketball, she has been a starter for the last 3 1/2 years and has distinguished herself as a scorer, rebounder and defender.
"We have relied on Mollee to guard the other team's best player, and on offense, we rely on her to score points," said Roncalli girls' basketball coach Derek Larson. "Rebounding is the same thing. She leads us in rebounds. She is very versatile and can go inside or go outside."
Karst is within reach of an important individual basketball milestone. She can surpass the Roncalli girls' basketball school record for career scoring, which is held by Tracy Stone. This week the Cavaliers play play two games.
Even without the defense, the points and the rebounds, Karst has made an impact on the Cavaliers basketball team.
"Probably the most important thing we get from her is that she leads by example on and off the floor. She's the person that gets us going. She's almost like having another coach on the floor," said Larson.
Karst switched things up this past summer. She usually played for traveling soccer teams, but elected to play for the South Dakota Stars AAU basketball team.
"We had practice Friday nights and Saturday mornings in Mitchell," said Karst. "It was a very big commitment, but was really helpful and helped me with my ball handling and shooting. Since I was 10 or younger, I had been playing soccer during the summer. I had to give that up and it was a hard decision."
She also changed up her fall season by choosing to compete in two sports: soccer and cross-country.
"My eighth grade and freshman year, I did both. My sophomore and junior years, I knew schoolwork was more important than athletics. This year, I had an easier school load and went out for cross country again," said Karst.
Roncalli finished 14th at the State A Cross Country Meet with Karst in the mix.
"She showed her willingness to work hard as a dual athlete this fall and that's tough for anybody to do," said Mark Stone, Roncalli girls' cross country and track and field coach. "I'm proud of her for all she's accomplished in every sport; those that I coach and those that I don't. She will leave a legacy with her teammates for working hard and giving her best effort."
Karst also played for the Golden Eagles soccer team that won the first ever state title sponsored by the South Dakota High School Activities Association and won it in Aberdeen in the fall of 2012.
"Mollee is an aggressive player, but has a good read on the game," said Aberdeen girls' soccer coach Merle Aske. "She does a good job of being in the right place at the right time, and is a good distributor of the ball."
Now, the basketball season is approaching its mid-point with the Cavaliers ranked fifth in the latest Class A poll with a 6-2 record. Roncalli is in a three-way tie for the top spot in the Northeast Conference and plays Redfield-Doland on Friday and Wagner on Saturday in the Hanson Classic at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.
The Cavaliers are led by five seniors, Karst, Tage and Taylor Hanson, Morgan Gunderson and Abby Dockter.
"I enjoy how close we are," said Karst about her basketball teammates. "We're more like a family. It's the relationships that you develop over the years. It's going to be tough not playing with them next year. I hope to make the best of the time I have left."
Larson has watched this Roncalli team grow and develop.
"I was an assistant Mollee's freshman year and a head coach her sophomore year," he said. "It's been nice having a player like her and the rest of the seniors who lead by example and make sure we are doing things right in and out of practice. Mollee would be the first person to say that without her teammates, she wouldn't be the player she is today."
And that is a player for all seasons.
Mollee Karst
Family: Parents, Michael and Kristi Karst; sister Caycee Karst (20) and brother Logan Karst (freshman at Roncalli High School).
Sports: Defensive midfielder in soccer, cross country, distance and middle distance runner in track and field, and forward in basketball.
Hobbies: Sports, hanging out with friends, going to the lake.
Favorite athlete: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings running back.
Favorite teams: Minnesota Twins in baseball and Minnesota Vikings in football.
Future plans: Undecided for college but considering North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Minnesota State Mankato. Not sure if she'll play sports but maybe basketball.
Best athletic memory:"Winning two state soccer championships and winning state titles in the 4 x 800-meter relay my sophomore and junior years."
Trivia: In fifth and sixth grade, Karst and Abby Dockter played on a traveling basketball team coached by Abby's father Joel Dockter.