I walked into the breakfast room to grab some eggs, oatmeal, and whatever else the continental breakfast had to offer. We were staying at the Quality Inn, just like every school program from West Fargo seemed to do. Whether it was baseball, jazz band, all-state music, swimming, or track, we always stayed at this same hotel. Now coming up to the end of my junior year of high school, I was starting to get a hang of the place. This trip offered me a small pool, 3 roommates, 2 beds per room, a very average continental breakfast, and interstate traffic nearby to listen to all day. I was always an early riser, so not only were my teammates not at breakfast yet, but only one of my coaches was there. I grabbed a copy of the Bismarck Tribune and sat down to eat. The front page of the paper proudly proclaimed something I had just witnessed the day before: Laura Roesler had lost a race. There was even a big picture of the finish, where Morgan Milbrath, a freshman stud from Minot was beating her at the line.
It was a momentous moment in the history of North Dakota track and field. To fully explain how and why, it is necessary to understand the absolute death grip Laura Roesler had on track and field in the state for many years. Coming into her senior year, she already had a plethora of state championships to her name, and many in dominating fashion: she would win the 100, 200, 400, and 800. This means that on the first day she would have to run the 100, 200, and 400 prelims to qualify for the second day, and then during the second day win the 100, 200, 400, and 800 finals (the 800 doesn't have prelims in North Dakota). Now, to win the pure sprinting event (100) and the true mid-distance event (800) at the state meet is incredible by itself, but also consider that within this time frame she was also winning the state cross country meet in the fall, a 4km (2.5 mile) race. In a nutshell, she was winning the state titles in the both the shortest and longest running events competed in high school in North Dakota in the same year. Crazy, right?
Now, there was one year she didn't win state cross country. Why? Because she had competed in the Olympic Trials late into the summer. It may not come as a surprise, but being a dominant sprinter and distance runner simultaneously, her top event was the 800. In North Dakota, the state track qualifying standard in the 800 for girls is 2:25. Most years, a few girls go under 2:20 during the regular season, and the ones who win state track can get down in the 2:15 range. Every few years a girl will come along who can run 2:12, and getting under 2:10 will get you top-5 all time in state history. Laura Roesler ran 2:04 at the Olympic Trials in high school, making it all the way to the semifinals as a young girl against seasoned professionals.
Her reign was unparalleled and untouchable. The year 2010 was her senior year, and it was scheduled to be an amazing athlete going out in style, cruising to another 4 state titles, bringing her total well over a dozen for her decorated high school career. People showed up to get a final glimpse of the University of Oregon commit who had been re-writing what was possible for years. She attended Fargo South High School, the arch nemesis of my West Fargo High School, but greatness knows no artificial boundaries like school zones- I wanted to see her race, too.
And so state track descended upon the Community Bowl in Bismarck, where the weather wasn't perfect, but really wasn't too bad either. The first event she was had on the first day was the 100 meter dash. This race is run east-to-west right by the stands where all the fans sit. Because she had the top time in the state, Laura Roesler had a preferential lane assignment, and was given a moment to be introduced as the defending state champion in the event. The official called the girls to their blocks, had them come set, and fired the gun. Her gold-and-white jersey exploded from the blocks and started barreling down the home stretch.
But she wasn't separating. There was one girl right next to her. The crowd got louder as they realized what was going on. People were standing up and cheering and yelling. People stared in disbelief as, at the last second, the other girl stretched ahead and beat Roesler at the line. Many people immediately started wondering- who was that? Did Laura have a bad day and run poorly to get beat? The time appeared on the board- Morgan Milbrath, freshman from Minot High, had defeated Laura Roesler and had run a state record in the process, running 11.9. Roesler had run the exact same state record, too, but had been beat. The track area went silent for a few moments- was this real? As people slowly realized what happened, the cheers and choruses became loud and obvious- we were witnessing greatness.
I put the newspaper down and continued eating. Today was finals, the day we would find out if Roesler had left anything in the tank or if she was not going home with 4 state titles this year. On this day she would, as she had in years past, run 4 finals in the span of 3 hours. In the 200 and 400 prelims the day before, Milbrath had run the fastest times, including a 200 state record, but the two athletes were in separate heats during prelims. Today we would know the truth.
I had my own race to worry about, so I spent the morning preparing for my 3200, the third race on the track that day (if you were wondering, it went well; I ran my first sub-10 ever), but after that I was done for the year. It was time to sit back and watch.
The stands were packed. It was the day of finals, and the weather was nice for once. Everybody had heard about the major upset the day before, and had come to see it for themselves. The fan-stands were packed full. The grass bowl on the east side was full. Even the coach-stands looked more full than normal. It was go time.
Here it was: the 100. Roesler and Milbrath had the middle lanes and everybody's eyes. The gun went off, they raced side-by-side, and Milbrath beat Roesler AGAIN, 12.35 to 12.38. No state records this time, but Laura Roesler was beat in the finals at state track. People in the crowd went crazy at this new revelation, and started getting excited for what the remainder of the day would bring.
The next event was the 400 meter dash. The state record was 55.10, set by Laura Roesler the year before. In the prelims, Milbrath ran 55.45 in the second heat, and Roesler ran 56.02 in the first heat. Nobody else was close. The anticipation built steadily as the athletes took position in their lanes. We didn't know it, but we were about to be treated to a show.
The gun went off, and immediately the two girls were putting big gaps on everyone in the race. I was sitting in the grass on the east bowl side, and when the two girls came around the final turn, they had 30 meters on everyone and they were side-by-side. Everybody in the whole stadium was standing, clapping, cheering, yelling- I remember getting goosebumps just listening to the noise and watching the race. In retrospect it's quite hard to describe: as the two athletes hit the homestretch, I could actually hear each section of fans scream louder as they ran past- almost like doing the wave with their voices. Both of them powered down, grimacing and giving 100% effort. I was yelling, throwing my arms, and completely wrapped up in the whole event. As they approached the finish line, nobody could tell who actually had the lead. They both pushed their chests forward at the line right at the peak noise from the crowd. The next girl wouldn't finish for more than 5 seconds IN A STATE 400 FINAL.
Everybody looked to the main scoreboard to wait for the final results to be put up. It felt like forever until:
1 Laura Roesler Fargo South 53.25
2 Morgan Milbrath Minot 53.31
People cheered again. Both girls had broken the state record by almost 2 full seconds and had run the 4th and 5th fastest high school times, respectively, in the entire country that year. This event had really pitted the two studs against each other: Milbrath had proved she was better at the 100, while Roesler had proven she was better at 800. The 400 is where the two stood on equal ground, and all of us watching were better off for it.
Still to this day, I can't remember a race that more captivated everything that's exciting about competition: two athletes, on the highest stage in the state, performing at incredible levels, at the most important time, in front of the most fans. State track in North Dakota is second only to state basketball in many ways, and it was like the famous 1977 State B Boys Basketball Championship game between powerhouse Hillsboro and underdog Epping: anybody who was there will remember it. I know I will.
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