On October 21st and 22nd, the North Dakota State Cross Country Meet was held at Parkhurst Campground/Pipestem Reservoir just north of Jamestown, ND. With beautiful weather in the 50s and 60s with light wind, the times were fast, the course was good, and the atmosphere was great.
In the Friday Class B races, the boys raced first and Bowman County stole the show. Scoring a dominating 18 team points, they placed 5 of the top 6 runners, broken up from a perfect score only by Hillsboro/Central Valley's Christian Brist. It was their third consecutive team title. Second place team was Kindred with 111 points, just barely beating New Town with 112. Bowman Co also had top overall performer in Austin Wanner, whose time of 16:05 was only five seconds faster than his teammate Caleb Sarsland. The time was 18 seconds faster than last year's winning time on the same course.
For the Class B girls, we had repeat winners in the individual and team. 9th grader Brynn Hanson from Des-Lacs Burlington/Lewis and Clark won her second consecutive individual state title, running 18:57 and finishing 10 seconds ahead of second placer finisher Addie Miller of Killdeer (also in 9th grade). Hanson's time was about 30 seconds faster than her state title last year. In the team battle, Rugby won their fourth consecutive team title, scoring 89 points to Bowman County's 118, taking away Bowman Co's chance at sweeping the team titles.
Saturday was the Class A races. For the boys, Williston continued the pattern of repeat team champions, winning their second consecutive state title with 46 points, followed closely by Bismarck High with 64 points. In a senior-heavy field, Brady Korsmo pulled off the victory, running an impressive time of 15:28, 8 seconds ahead of Fynn Krenz of Williston.
In the Class A girls race, Williston's girls team won their third consecutive state title, this time with 93 points, barely edging out Grand Forks Red River with 104 points. The individual race was not as close, with senior Jaelyn Ogle dominating the field, winning her first state cross country title by 45 seconds in a time of 18:15.
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| Credit: Tom Mix, NDHSAA Media Specialist |
At the North Dakota State Cross Country Meet in 2019, fans were treated to the second consecutive year of Brady Yoder and Sean Korsmo battling it out in the front, this time with Yoder taking the win in an impressive 15:20, to Korsmo's 15:32. There were seven 9th-graders that finished in the top 40, and fifth out of those, in 32nd place with a time of 16:57, was Brady Korsmo of Bismarck High.
When he was in 8th grade, Brady's brother Sean won the state title, and then again two years later, in 2020. In that sophomore year of Brady's, he was again just outside the top 30, placing 34th with a time of 17:06. The big breakthrough at state cross country, and his chance to be the leader up front, was just on the horizon.
In his junior year, Brady placed 5th at state with a time of 15:52, an impressive feat in one of the deepest fields in state history. However, only one of the runners ahead of him was a senior, which meant a state title wasn't going to come easy in his senior year.
This year at state, Brady won. He ran a blistering 15:28 on the Jamestown course, beating fellow WDA rival Fynn Krenz by eight seconds and breakout Grand Forks Central senior Quinn Roehl by ten seconds. As a team, Bismarck High took 2nd overall, only losing to Williston by 18 points, and that was with one of their top runners not racing! It was the highest team place since they won in 2015.
As part of the state cross country champion series, we get a chance to meet Brady and wonder what it's like to be a part of a program that is a top five team every single year, with unprecedented amounts of success in this state.
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Congrats on your victory! Now that you’ve had some time to decompress and take a step away
from state cross country, how do you feel? This was your first state cross country title, right?
Yes, this was my first cross country title. It feels really good knowing my work has paid off.
Winning the state meet was a goal I’d had for quite some time, and it was something I had worked very
hard for. Crossing the line and knowing I just accomplished my goal is a feeling I can’t quite describe.
At some point, whether it was last year, this summer, or this fall, you probably realized that
winning state cross country was something you had the ability to do. When was that point? How
did it affect your outlook on this season?
Coming off of track season, I knew I had a chance at winning if I worked hard. The moment I
realized it was actually attainable was at our opening meet the rusty bucket. I ran a PR by about
ten seconds, which is a great place to be at the beginning of the season. I knew I was only going
to get better from there.
Take us through your title-winning race. What was your strategy going in? Did you follow it? Any
surprises?
My strategy going in was to stick with the front guys, stay relaxed through the first mile, and
then go from there. I mostly followed the strategy but did end up leading earlier than I
expected. I was a little surprised Fynn was not up there right away, but knew he would come on
later and figured he was running a bit more conservative.
At the WDA Region Meet, you placed 6th, over 50 seconds behind the leader. Did that affect how
you mentally prepared for the state meet?
I think it was probably a little bit good for me. The race before WDA was Rapid City, where I
finished just a second behind a very good runner. I came back a little bit cocky and complacent,
which didn’t last long as Fynn and the Williston boys beat me by quite a bit. I knew I still had it in
me but had to work for it.
What’s the biggest barrier you had to overcome this season?
I will say after WDA I was not feeling it right away. It took me a few days to start believing in
myself again.
Your team, Bismarck High, took 2nd place, only 18 points behind Williston. Was a team title a goal
going into the state meet? How did you feel about the team’s performance?
A Team title is something we always shoot for at BHS. I think it actually helps me run faster
knowing I have a team depending on me. That being said, we had a very young team this year, I
was the only senior, and our number 2 was out. Losing by 18 points to a team like Williston
while under those circumstances isn’t bad. Very proud of my team.
Help us get an idea of what it takes to be a high-placing team. What mindset do you and your
teammates have? What’s the atmosphere at practice?
Obviously you have to have some fun at practice, but more importantly we do all of the little
things right. I think our team does a really great job of finding a balance between having fun
when we can, but also taking our training very seriously and getting it done. It honestly has
gotten to the point where most of us don’t need anybody else to hold us accountable because
we do it ourselves and understand the importance of training.
Your team headed down to Rapid City in September and you got to race some great
competition, losing by only 1 second to Simeon Birnbaum, a sub-4 miler from Rapid City
Stevens. What was that race like?
Super fun race actually. I went into the race prepared to hang on as long as possible and it
turned out great. Its awesome running against somebody that good and finishing so close behind them.
Recently, you placed 86th at the Nike Cross Regional Meet with a time of 15:52. What that meet
like for you? What was your goal, and did you meet it?
For me that race was disappointing. It's a very fast course so most people from north dakota ran
a PB. My goal was to PR and to hopefully be closer to the front pack. I didn’t meet it, but it was
a good learning opportunity. Racing in a field that big threw me off a little bit and it is something
I have to work on. It gives you perspective on how much work you have left to do.
In 2020, your brother Sean won the state cross country title. How does it feel to match that two years later?
I don’t know how to describe it. Sean has been a state champion since his sophomore year, and
when I was younger I didn’t think I would be able to live up to that. I slowly got better, and him
being as good as he was and as recognized as he was gave me a lot of motivation to reach my
goals.
What motivates you in practice to keep pushing in practice?
I think a huge part of it is setting a goal for yourself. Setting a good goal that is challenging for
yourself and then committing to it will make you better. And for me, I know that the other top
kids in the state are working just as hard as I am, which gives me that extra boost and discipline
to do all the little things right.
Do you have any plans after graduation? Are you interested in running at the college level?
I’m for sure running in college, I just don’t know where yet. I’ve been on a few visits so far
and am finding some options, but will still need a bit more time before I make a decision.
What is your background in sports? Did you start running at a young age, or is it relatively new?
I have been running since elementary school. I did it because Sean did it. However, I haven’t
always liked it. I really got into it my freshman year, when I came up to BHS. It was a completely
different atmosphere and sport, which I quickly started to like more and more.
Talk a little bit about your training. What kind of routes and workouts does Bismarck do? Do you
have a favorite workout?
We mostly run on sidewalks and bike trails. We have a few routes on gravel and dirt but we
don’t get out to those often. During cross country we do a lot of 1k’s, 800’s, and this year we
incorporated more 400’s and tempo runs. I don’t really prefer one over the other, I’m okay with
all of them.
Any plans for a winter sport, or is it time to focus on track?
In the past I have played hockey, but this year I very recently decided not to play and to focus on
track.
Speaking of track, any early thoughts about what you might want to accomplish during track this
year?
I have quite a few track goals this year, but the biggest one is a team title. We have some
talented jumpers, sprinters, and a good distance core, so I think we have a good shot.
What is running to you? Why do you do it?
It started off as something I had to do, now its something I love. It used to be that I had to get up
in the summers to run. I had to go to practice. Now, it's just kind of a part of me. I still have to go
on runs and get up early in the morning sometimes, but I’m no longer in the mindset that it's a
hassle. It is kind of hard to describe.
What’s your favorite place (so far) to run in North Dakota?
For races I really do like the Jamestown course.
Do you have any North Dakota runners that you look up to? What about college or professional
athletes? Who has inspired you?
Biggest person would have to be my brother. The amount that he has inspired me has made me
a better runner than I thought I could ever be. As a runner for BHS you kind of have to look up to
Jake Leingang as well. I don’t follow college or pro running as much, but there are a lot of
athletes at that level that are very inspiring.
Can you offer up any advice you’ve learned along the way to people who might be interested in
cross country?
It's a pretty common saying that your body can do so much more than your mind thinks it can,
but I never really understood that until recently. Cross country has made me realize how true
this saying actually is. It’s eye opening to really understand the only thing holding you back is
your mindset.
Thank you Brady for taking the time answer questions for ND Runner, best of luck the rest of your senior year!
