Smyrna High cross country runner Kelly Barr was voted this week’s State News Athlete of the Week. The senior won the girls’ individual title at the Kent County Championships in a season-best time of 19:58 to top a field of 90 runners.

A captain this season, Barr has been a member of Smyrna teams that finished second in the DIAA Division I state meet in 2018 and won the Henlopen Conference team title in both ‘18 and ‘19.

“Kelly has been a phenomenal runner and leader for our program for the last four years,” said Eagles coach John Haller. “She has been an integral part of many historic cross-country teams here at Smyrna.

“This year as a senior she was made captain of the team and has done an excellent job. She is a great racer and has a ton of heart and grit. ... Overall she is an incredibly valuable runner to the team and she will be greatly missed next year.”

The Athlete of the Week is nominated and chosen by our readers. The nominating period starts at 2 p.m. on Friday and ends at noon on Monday. A voting period follows from 5 p.m. Monday through 5 p.m. Wednesday.

This process is performed exclusively online. When nominating an athlete, please include name, school and sport as well as a photo and brief description of why he or she deserves that week’s honor.

All nominations must be high school varsity athletes and come from high schools within Kent or Sussex counties. The winner appears in print and online each Friday.