With a little help from the local community, Lindbergh High School’s Jane McKibben hopes to take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

McKibben recently was selected to compete in the cross-country competition at the Down Under International Games in July in Brisbane, Australia.

“It’s an opportunity that I’ve never had before,” McKibben said. “I’m really excited because it’s the opportunity of a lifetime and I’d really love to go.”

To compete in the Down Under Games, the Lindbergh junior had to be nominated by her cross-country coach or by another coach who saw her compete throughout the course of the season. Last year, McKibben qualified for the Missouri Class 4 state championships and helped the Flyers to a seventh-place finish with 185 points.

McKibben also is a midfielder on the Lindbergh girls’ soccer team and recorded an assist in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Fort Zumwalt South in the Hazelwood Central Shootout.

“Jane’s the epitome of dedication and hard work,” Lindbergh girls’ soccer head coach Mark Giesing said. “The girl commits herself every day to staying in shape.

“Jane’s also a very positive and upbeat person. She’s a great team person in that she supports the other kids on the team when they’re down.”

But there’s much more to McKibben than just cross country and soccer.

She’s an active member of the Link Leader Crew program at Lindbergh, which provides help and guidance to incoming freshman. McKibben also received the Gold Award from the Lindbergh Renaissance program, which is an academically based program that recognizes a student’s achievements in the classroom.

During her freshman and sophomore years at Lindbergh, McKibben took seven honors classes and now is taking three classes for college credit. To top it off, she carries an impressive 3.6 grade-point average.

After she graduates from Lindbergh next year, McKibben would like to attend Drury, Missouri State or St. Louis University on an athletic/academic scholarship and graduate with a degree in chemistry.

She then plans to attend medical school and enter the U.S. Army as a physician or surgeon.

But McKibben’s biggest challenge yet is coming within the next month as she tries to raise $4,000 to pay for her expenses to travel to and compete in the Down Under International Games. She has been selected to participate in both the 5-kilometer race and the 6-kilometer race. McKibben will compete for her team and herself in the 5-K race, but the 6-K race is an international event in which she will represent the United States against athletes from other countries.

Beginning today — March 27 — and continuing through Sunday, McKibben will conduct a fund-raising event at the Schnucks grocery store on Watson Road in Crestwood.

“So far I’ve only raised $185,” McKibben said. “The Crestwood Schnucks told me that I can put up a table on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday … I really have to be determined to raise the money so that there’s not a money issue in the end.”