Missouri cross-country coach Marc Burns’ 10-year-old son crawls across across the floor on his hands and knees. From behind the coach, his younger brothers take aim with Nerf guns.
This is Deer Hunter, a game created by Burns’ children. The goal is simple: Shoot the “deer” with the Nerf gun.
Junior Kaitlyn Fischer, their babysitter and one of the top-two cross-country runners on the Missouri team, joins in on their little game.
Much like a deer, Fischer can run. As a freshman, she qualified for the NCAA championship meet in cross-country and was also a second-team All-American in the 10,000-meter race for outdoor track.