A couple NDSU grads and track studs have created the Prairie Track Podcast, which is trying to do EVERYTHING related to North Dakota and running. Episode 2 features your truly, but check all of the episodes out!
Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Saturday, November 21, 2020
ND Runner Interview #8- Class A Boy's State XC Champion Sean Korsmo
On Saturday, October 24th, in temperatures hovering in the mid-20s with snow on the ground, the Class A State Cross Country Meet was held at Parkhurst Recreation Area just outside of Jamestown, ND, and the Class B State Cross Country Meet was held further north at the Cooperstown Country Club. The Class A races stayed close to the predictions, whereas the Class B meet had some upsets. This interview is the final of four interviews with the individuals who won state titles this year.
Interview with Class A Girl's Champion Meghan Ford is here.
Interview with Class B Boy's Champion Brian Miller is here.
Interview with Class B Girl's Champion Peyton Gette is here.
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| Smile, you're a state champion! Photo Credit: NDHSAA |
Going into 2020, Bismarck High School had provided 10 of the last 13 individual winners of the Class A Boy's State Cross Country meet. One of those years, 2018, was Sean Korsmo.
Korsmo has been one of the top runners in the state for a few years now. As a freshman, he placed 17th at state cross country, and doubled back by placing 5th in 1600 (4:29), 5th in the 3200 (9:46), and 4th as a member of the 4x800 (8:12) at state track.
As a sophomore, he had a breakout year. He won state cross country with a time of 15:46, and then cleaned up at state track, winning titles in the 1600 (4:25), 3200 (9:32), and as a member of the 4x800 (8:01). 4 state titles in 10th grade isn't too shabby.
As a junior, he placed 2nd at a FAST state cross country meet, finishing in 15:33 to fellow junior Brady Yoder's (Dickinson) 15:21. Of course, track season did not have a state meet because of COVID.
Entering senior year, Korsmo was a favorite in cross country. In the first coaches poll, he was ranked 2nd to Yoder, but after that, he was ranked 1st for the next 6 weeks. Going into state, he won the West Region meet (defeating Yoder), and was only ranked behind Jacob Knodle (WF Sheyenne) from the East Region. At the West Region Meet, Korsmo won by almost 10 seconds in a time 15:26. The table was set.
At this year's state meet, Sean Korsmo of Bismarck High School placed 1st with a time of 15:28, 5 seconds ahead of Jacob Knodle, with Brady Yoder in 4th at 15:38. Each of the top five runners were under 16:00. He won his 2nd state title in cross country!
Outside of that, he has been tackling some trail running as well, including racing the National High School Trail Championships in Salida, Colorado this previous summer, finishing an impressive 2nd place! Here's a description of the race, followed by an interview of him with the American Trail Running Association:
"The 5.4-mile trail championship course started on a dirt road along the Arkansas River near downtown Salida — elevation 7,057 feet –and reached a high point of 7,558 feet. After less than a mile, the course continued on the Salida Mountain Trail System, with terrain comprised primarily of mountain-biking friendly single-track switchbacks. The race finished at Riverside Park in downtown Salida."
Interview with American Trail Running Association
Below are the questions I posed to Korsmo, and his answers.
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1.) First of all, congrats on the victory at state!
There was a lot of talent in that race, evidenced by the top 4 runners all
under 15:40. You were one of the discussed front-runners going into the race.
How did you mentally prepare?
My mindset for the state meet was
obviously that I wanted to win. For me, it’s as simple as that. I have the same
mindset for every race I compete in, and it’s always that I want to win. It
doesn’t matter who is in the race, how fast they are, or how much better they
are than me. I’m not always going to win, I understand that, but I’m going to
do my best to win. To mentally prepare myself for all of my races I pray a lot.
I always feel at peace after, but I am ready.
2.) With fresh snow on the ground and sub-freezing
temperatures, did your approach for warming up or preparing for the race
change?
It was pretty cold the day of the
state meet. That is usually expected because we live in North Dakota, but I am
comfortable running in sub-freezing temperatures. I absolutely hate running on
treadmills, so during the winter I only train outside in temperatures much
colder than we had at the state meet. The cold air is a little tougher to
breathe in, so I did wear a facemask to try to make it a little easier to
breathe. I wore the facemask through warmups and took it off at the start line.
3.) Talk a little about the race. How did it play
out?
I figured the race was going to be
pretty fast right off the bat, so I decided to just follow the leaders. At the
half mile mark, Jacob Knodle put in a pretty good surge, and I followed with a
good sized pack behind me. We came through the mile just under five minutes,
which wasn’t too bad for me. I had gone out harder than that at WDA, so I was
feeling pretty good. I ran in the back of the front pack which put me in fifth
place behind Jacob Knodle, Brady Yoder, Ben Anteau, and Mason Kindle. We ran in
that same pack until just before the two mile mark. Ben put in a good surge,
and I followed closely behind. I could feel both Knodel and Yoder a few meters
behind me, but the pack had broken away from Kindle. We maintained our same
places until the four hundred meter mark. I remember telling myself “Sean you
gotta go,” and I prayed “Lord help me with this,” and I took off. I passed Ben,
and took the lead for the first time in the race. I remember everything went
kind of blurry as I sprinted towards the finish and eventually crossed the
finish line.
4.) You’ve had state titles previously in track and
cross country. What makes this title different? How does it feel?
This state title was very
different for a lot of reasons. It’s my senior year, my last chance to win a
state title in cross country, and the fact that we didn’t know if we were going
to have a season was also a huge factor. Yes, it was different, but overall, it
was the same as any other season. The goal is always to win, I might not always
achieve that, but it is always my goal.
5.) Brady Yoder (Dickinson) was 4th
today, but he beat you to take the State XC title last year, and has taken a
close second to you in many other state championship races in both track and
XC. What is like to race each other? Is there any kind of rivalry or understood
competition between the two of you? Do you feel like you bring out the best of
each other?
I love racing Brady. We are pretty
good friends. We don’t have any bad blood between us or anything. Sure, we both
want to beat each other every race, but that is just our competitive nature. He
is a super awesome guy, and an amazing competitor. I love racing him, I know he
makes me so much better, and I hope I do the same for him. I don’t think I
would be nearly as fast as I am right now without him.
6.) Obviously this year is different. We all know
that every walk of life has been changed by the pandemic. Your track season was
cut in the spring, and you didn’t know how cross country would play out. How
did you cope with not having track last season?
To cope with not having a track
season, I ran a lot. I fell in love with running more than I ever had in my
life. It’s pretty boring not having much to do, so I would go out and run a
couple times a day, and I loved it. I would have rather raced, but I knew it
wasn’t possible. I couldn’t control it, but I knew I needed to enjoy the time
God gave me to just run.
7.) What has it been like to train through the
pandemic and keep your sights on the goals you have?
I love running, so it was never
tough for me to go out and run. In the spring I knew I was training for this
cross country season, and I was going to be ready for whatever race I might’ve
been able to run this fall.
8.) Bismarck High has had now had 11 of the past 14
individual men’s State Class A Cross Country champions. What does it mean to
you to be part of that line of success and tradition?
I think more than anything, having
that many champions reflects the amazing coaches at Bismarck High. It’s really
how Anderson and Zittleman have developed runners over the last 15 years. They
don’t just get lucky with the best kids in the state always ending up at
Bismarck High. There’s no way it’s luck. They take good runners, and they make
them better. It really means a lot to me to be a part of the tradition and
success at Bismarck High. It’s awesome, and like I said, it really reflects how
great the coaches are at Bismarck High.
9.) What does
the rest of cross country season look like for you? Are there any races to go
to? How about for track- what are your
goals there?
Although Nike and Footlocker are
canceled this year, there is a race in Indiana on November 15 that I competed
in. I ran at a national meet with guys from 35 different states, so I knew
there was going to be good competition. Even knowing how fast some of the guys
could run, I still wanted to win. The conditions were not ideal with winds up
to forty miles per hour. I was trailing the lead pack for the majority of the
race. My goal was to run down the pack in the last mile, and pass as many guys
as I could. I ended up giving the lead pack a little too big of a lead. I still
ran down quite a few guys in the last mile, but it wasn’t quite where I wanted
to be. I took 16th overall, and earned All American honors. I am happy with how
I did, but I always want to do better. Right now, I will continue running
normal mileage, but for track the goal is to be better than I currently am. I’m
not a big time guy, but I’m going to try and get very fast. For me, it’s as
simple as that.
10.) Do
you have plans to run in college? Have you committed anywhere?
I plan on running in college, and
I am very excited to compete at the collegiate level next year. I have talked
to a few colleges, but as of right now I am not sure where I will be running.
11.) To
what or to whom can you attribute the success that you’ve experienced?
First, all the success I’ve had
has been given to me by God. I thank him everyday for all that he has blessed
me with, and allowing me success in running. I couldn’t have done anything
without God’s help. That’s where I credit all of my success. Obviously, Darrell
Anderson has done so much for me through my five years competing for Bismarck
High, and he is a huge part of who I am, and what I’ve done. He is one of the
greatest coaches out there, and the runners coming out of Bismarck High are
proof of that.
12.) What
does running mean to you?
The root of running for me is
using my talents to glorify God. I’ve been given a gift, and I love to use it.
I couldn’t imagine my life without running, or who I would be without running.
It has changed my life in so many ways, and it’s taught me so much about life.
Running has been a part of who I am, and even when I can’t run anymore, what
I’ve experienced will still have a huge impact on me.
13.) What’s
your favorite place to run in North Dakota?
My favorite place is a ten mile
route that Anderson has shown me that he calls Dead Rabbit. It is in the north
western part of Bismarck. It mostly consists of hilly, dirt roads that really
show off the beauty of North Dakota. It almost doesn’t feel like North Dakota,
it is much hillier than most people would expect from North Dakota, and doesn’t
feel like just flat plains. It’s super beautiful and a super fun run.
14.) What
adversity have you experienced with running, and what did you do to overcome
it?
I had severe back problems my
freshman year that prevented me from competing at WDA, and left me injured for
state. I injured it a few days before WDA in the middle of the run. I couldn’t
make it back to Bismarck High, so I had to walk the rest of the run which ended
up being around three miles. That was super tough for me. I still wanted to
race with one of my teammates, Morgan Fairbairn. We had raced all season
together, and usually placed within ten seconds of each other. The week of
state, I couldn't practice for the first few days of the week. I finally came
back on Thursday, two days before the state meet. During the meet, I tried to
run with Morgan for as long as I could, but after the first mile of pain, I
started to fall back. I remember just trying to hold on as long as I could to
the top twenty and found myself in twenty-first with only a few hundred meters
left. I put my pain aside and ran as hard as I could. I ended up finishing
seventeenth, which was super frustrating for me. I was happy that I was All
State, but I had wanted to do much better. I rested, healed, and did physical
therapy in the off season, and I thank the Lord for healing me. I remember
praying during that time, and I mainly said, “Lord, I don’t know why this is
happening, but I know it’s for the best,” and it was. I have gotten much
stronger since then, and I think the experience made me better. Another huge
difficulty I faced was breaking my toe sophomore year. I broke it in September,
and I knew I needed to get back to running. It was tough, I had trained a lot
for the season, but I never got down about breaking my toe. I remember I prayed
that I could continue to run, and that this was part of some awesome plan, and
then I went to work. I broke it on a Wednesday, I biked on Thursday and I tried
to run on Friday. I made it two blocks. I went back to biking, and over the
weekend I swam. On Monday I ran on an antigravity treadmill, and on Tuesday I
was back. I went for my first real run on Tuesday, and although it hurt, I made
it through. I spent the rest of the season in a boot, only taking it off when I
ran. I also couldn’t get my foot into my spike, so I had to wear a racing flat
with more support instead of a spike. I was determined not to let my toe slow
me down, even at state. God helped me get through the season, and I ended up winning
state. Other than that, I have never been ranked first going into a state meet,
but that has never mattered to me. I will always try as hard as I can to win.
15.) What
words of advice can you give to those who are interested in running?
A lot of people ask me how I enjoy
running. They always say they want to get into it, but they don’t enjoy it. I
can’t make people love running, but I can help people get better. I think the
main key to getting better at running is consistency. Cross country is not a
sport that you can fake. If you want to be good, you have to train. There is no
way around it. There is no secret to getting better, it’s just running everyday
and working hard. This applies to everyone, but especially for people who want
to start running.
16.) Do
you have any runners from North Dakota that you’ve drawn inspiration from or
look up to? What about professional runners?
I really look up to the guys that
graduated before me, Jake Leingang and Sam Clausnitzer especially. There are a
lot more guys that Anderson has told me stories about, and I really look up to
those guys as well. I look up to everything they did while running at Bismarck
High. Everytime I walk by the trophy case, and the majority of it is filled
with cross country trophies, it amazes me. Hearing their stories makes me want
to be a better runner. I want to be more like those guys, but those guys also
set high goals. I am very competitive, and a little part of me compares myself
to them. Of course, I want to be better than they were, but I know that might
not be the case, and that’s okay. More than anything, those guys just help me
become better. I know I may never be as good as they were, but I really want to
try. Those are the main guys I strive to run like. Sure there are cool
professional runners, but it means a lot more to me, and I feel much more
connected with the guys who graduated before me. That being said, I was
introduced to Tayte Pollmann who is a Nike Trail Runner. Through friends I was
given the opportunity to stay with him this summer, and we became friends. As
professional runners go, he is by far my favorite, and he is an incredible
person.
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
ND Runner Interview #7- Class B Girl's State XC Champ Peyton Gette
On Saturday, October 24th, in temperatures hovering in the mid-20s with snow on the ground, the Class A State Cross Country Meet was held at Parkhurst Recreation Area just outside of Jamestown, ND, and the Class B State Cross Country Meet was held further north at the Cooperstown Country Club. The Class A races stayed close to the predictions, whereas the Class B meet had some upsets. This interview is the third of four interviews with the individuals who won state titles this year.
Interview with Class A Girl's Champion Meghan Ford can be found here.
Interview with Class B Boy's Champion Brian Miller can be found here.
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| Smile! You're a State Champion! Photo Credit: Hillsboro Banner |
Much like the Class B Boy's race, the Class B Girl's race did not have a clear favorite going into the state race. Many of the girls in the top 10 in the polls came from the East Region, and many of those girls had won at least one race at some point during the season, and even head-to-head comparisons would fail to produce any consistency.
Ranked 7th going into the state meet was a 9th grader from Kindred. She had only won one regular season race, and that was in a meet with only three teams competing. She had not been ranked higher than 3rd all season in the polls, and was ranked 6th in the final coaches poll leading up to the state meet. Her only placement at state track was a 6th place in the 3200 meter run back as a 7th grader in 2019. In her first cross country race of the season, she lost by over a minute to girl who would be at the state meet.
But there were signs pointing in the opposite direction. In her last race of the regular season, she took 2nd place by 8 seconds. At the region meet, she placed 2nd, 5 seconds behind the #1 ranked runner in the polls, and beating many of the rest of the top 10 in the process. The table was set.
At state, Peyton Gette of Kindred High School placed 1st with a time of 19:08.7, two seconds ahead of Norah Entzi (Edgeley-Kulm), and 20 seconds clear of everyone else. It was the first state title for the 9th grader from the small Red River Valley town southwest of Fargo. Gette burst onto the scene as a 7th grader, placing 11th overall and being the 1st 7th grader to cross the line. In 8th grade, she placed 17th, a few places back from the year before. This year, she had the breakthrough and won it all. She was the only non-senior to win an individual title this year, and she helped her team to a 4th place overall finish at state.
Below are the questions I posed to State Champ Peyton Gette of Kindred High School. I have to admit a little bias, because I grew up in Horace, ND, just up the road from Kindred. I learned that Peyton is a team player and already understands how important relationships are in running. .
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1.)
First of all, congrats on your victory! You came
from a tough region, as evidenced by 8 of the top 10 all coming from the East
Region. You took second at the east region meet last week. How did you mentally
and physically prepare for this race?
Physically,
I made sure that I was eating good all week and that my sleep schedule stayed
the same. Mentally, I told myself to enjoy the moment and to not stress.
2.)
With fresh snow on the ground and sub-freezing
temperatures, did your approach for warming up or preparing for the race
change?
Last year
at state it was really cold as well, I was nervous and didn’t feel as prepared.
This year, I tried to not over think the weather and just felt more
confident.
3.)
Talk a little bit about the race. How did it
play out? What was your race strategy?
I was really determined to get out fast and around the first
few turns. After that, I settled in with the front pack until a little after 2
miles. At that time, I was able to move out front and stay there.
4.)
This is your first individual state title. What
does it mean to you, and how does it feel?
I
never expected to have a state title as a freshman. It’s such an honor and it
means so much to me. It feels so amazing!
5.)
You placed 11th at the state cross
country meet and 6th in the 3200 meters at state track as a 7th
grader, and now you have a state title as a freshman. What do you think allowed
you to have that amount of success early in your varsity career?
My
teammates are a big part of my success, I don’t know what I would do if they
weren’t there with me. My coaches have also lead me here, pushing me in
practice everyday.
6.)
Obviously this year is different. We all know
that every walk of life has been changed by the pandemic. Your track season was
cut in the spring, and you didn’t know how cross country would play out. How
did you cope with not having track last season?
I didn’t
know if we would get to finish the cross country season after being quarantined
for 3 weeks. That was very stressful. I trained every day of the track season,
doing all the workouts I normally would at home by myself.
7.)
What has it been like to train through the
pandemic and keep your sights on goals that you have?
It’s been
hard not getting to train close to all my teammates. We did our workouts and
runs in small pods this season. Our team didn’t get to be as close as we would
have liked, but overall we made it work and are thankful we made it to the state
meet.
8.)
What does the rest of cross country season look
like for you? Are there any races to go to? How about for track- what are
your goals there?
I was
planning on running at Nike regionals this year but it was cancelled due to the
pandemic. I’m really excited to see how the track season plays out, considering
I haven’t raced on a track since 7th grade. My biggest goal is definitely to do
well in the state for the 2 mile run.
9.)
To what or to whom can you attribute this
success you’ve experienced?
My
teammates make cross country so much more enjoyable. I looked up to the older
kids so much during my 7th grade season. My coaches are also a big part of my
success. To think we didn’t even have a cross country team 4 years ago. I would
never be here if it wasn’t for them.
10.) What
does running mean to you?
Hard work and dedication and also setting and reaching
goals.
11.) What’s
your favorite place to run North Dakota?
My
favorite place to run in North Dakota would have to be Cooperstown. I didn’t
like it in past years, but after racing here several times this year, I learned
to love it!
12.) What
words of advice can you give to those who are interested in running?
It might take awhile to get to where you want to be. Trust the
process and really try to enjoy it.
13.) What
adversity have you experienced with running, and what did you do to overcome
it?
Last year
I had to overcome 2 stress fractures in my foot. I had to miss a couple meets
and my first race back was regionals and then state. I had to cross train and
it really made me overthink a lot of things.
14.) Do
you have any runners from North Dakota that you’ve drawn inspiration from or
look up to? What about professional runners?
I enjoy
following Meghan Ford of Jamestown and also Onnica Stansbury of West Fargo
Sheyenne.
Monday, November 2, 2020
ND Runner Interview #6- Class B Boy's State XC Champ Brian Miller
Last Saturday, in temperatures hovering in the mid-20s with snow on the ground, the Class A State Cross Country Meet was held at Parkhurst Recreation Area just outside of Jamestown, ND, and the Class B State Cross Country Meet was held further north at the Cooperstown Country Club. The Class A races stayed close to the predictions, whereas the Class B meet had some upsets. This interview is the second of four interviews with the individuals who won state titles this year.
Interview with Class A Girl's Champion Meghan Ford can be found here.
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| Smile, You're a State Champ! Courtesy NDHSAA |
We all love an underdog story, right? In his senior year of cross country, before the state meet, Brian Miller did not win a varsity cross country meet in North Dakota (he did win two in South Dakota). He was never ranked higher than 4th place in the coaches poll, and in the final poll before the state meet he was ranked 9th. At the West Region meet, he finished 7th. He has never scored an individual point at the state track meet.
This is not to say he hadn't come close. Going into his senior year of high school, he had been top-20 at Class B State Cross Country an impressive 4 different times, dating all the way back to 8th grade. Going all the way back to his 7th grade year, his team had never finished worse than 5th at state, and had placed as high as second. However, titles remained elusive. Judging by the polls, most did not expect him to win the big race.
At this year's state meet, the previous results and polls were shown wrong. Miller crossed the finish line in first place with a time of 16:14, less than two seconds ahead of Class B Boy's State Senior Athlete of the Year and region rival Noah Rolfe (Stanley). Not only did Miller get to celebrate an individual accomplishment, but his team won the team title in commanding fashion, scoring 56 points to second-place Hillsboro/Central Valley's 101 points. Perhaps even more impressive was the fact that their victory end a streak of 8 consecutive titles by the dynastic New Town Eagles.
As I've written about extensively on here, Class B cross country many times ends up being a battle between small programs in the middle of nowhere with limited facilities and resources. Bowman County is one of the more remote school districts in North Dakota, and yet they manage to put together quality programs year after year. In recognition of this fact, Bowman County took home another piece of hardware with their head coach, Jonathan Jahner receiving the Class B Boy's State Coach of the Year award.
Below are the questions I put to Brian. I learned in these questions that the reason he didn't run in the first few races of the season was because he was at basic training. Crazy! Perhaps my favorite quote from all of it is: "I got better from losing and wanting to win."
I asked him about his team, his victory, the pandemic, and more!
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1.) First of all, congrats on your victory! You came out of a tough region, with all of the top 5 runners at state coming from the West, and all of whom had just beaten you at the Region meet. What was your mindset coming into the race? How did you mentally prepare?
Thank You! We west region boys run on some hills so of course we are tough, just kidding anyways, My mindset was probably not what most people would expect. They would probably expect me to have some doubt about my capabilities and like you said losing to those very same runners during regionals. But it was not. I have been in this sport for 6 years and I’ve had bad races. Regionals was a bad race for me. I have had good races one of those being a Lemmon (SD) meet in which I ran a 16:32 and personal record (PR). So, what I am trying to say is I was confident in my abilities and more importantly my team. The only doubt I had was that I was at Basic training this summer and it cut into the season, so I was late for the season and it took me about 3 weeks to fully develop again. There was not much mental preparation on my end, our coaches told us exactly how the course was going to be and walked us through different situations. I trusted my team and I knew that I had to stay right with Noah Rolfe, Patrick Wrigley (Shiloh Christian), and Ian Busch (Beulah-Hazen) and when or if I made a move it had to fast and strong. I know everyone’s race strategy from running with the same boys for so long. It was over-do to do something special from a team aspect last year me and the team wanted to give fellow teammate who was a senior a championship and we fell short. This year it was all blood in the water and we were the sharks we were mad and ready to kill.
2.) With fresh snow on the ground and sub-freezing temperatures, did your approach for warming up or preparing for the race change?
No nothing changed in warm up, in this sport it is vital that you are consistent and do the same thing before every meet. We were ready for the absolute worst at state, we were ready for 9 inches of snow and 25 mph wind, all week leading up to state we wore under cloths and lots of layers to prepare our bodies for this slight change. But it honestly wasn’t that bad or cold. And we had the same race plan.
3.) Talk a little about your race. How did it play out? What was your race strategy?
I cannot take any credit for this race strategy that belongs to the masterminds named Mr. Jahner and Mr. Bowman. Most of the time if a course is flat you just must get out fast and finish fast, on more hilly courses is where you can bring people back and strategy is crucial. Our coaches, did their homework on the course, they previously had a meet at Cooperstown and learned that there was a sharp turn left in the beginning that would quite literally bring runners to a halt and with 90 more kids going to be at the state meet it was drilled in our head to get out fast. If you did not get out fast you could screw the teammate behind, you in the small start boxes at state where you can only put 2-3 runners in front. So, I got out incredibly fast, me and teammate Caleb Sarsland were leading the race. About a hundred meters or so in there is a sharp left turn then 25 meters right turn and then 20 meters another right turn. As we were approaching the first turn out of the corner of my eye, I saw just a storm of people to the left of us. I yelled at Caleb to cut in. I was leading the race for about another 100 meters when I started to slow down and wait for Ian, Patrick, and Noah. I have run with these guys a lot and I know they like to get out strong and hold it. I let them pass me and I followed them. The first mile was 5:08 and the second mile was 10:34. Now here again is when my team’s coaches played another amazing role. Our coach have us finish with some sort of an 800m finish on tempo runs or just general practice. We always practice our finish and thank god the coaches did that. As I was running, the coaches met me in different spots and looked at me and said, “Don’t wait to make your move at the finish make it when you’re ready”. That is what I did as I reached about ¾ of mile left I made my move, I put 20 meters of ground between me and Ian, Noah, and Patrick. I built to the finish line, I did make my move maybe a little bit too soon, because I started to die within the last 200 -300 meters. And then Noah Rolfe who was my best guess who would win state was shoulder to shoulder with me. That gave me just enough momentum for me to finish when you can see a guy right next to you it brings a competitive edge.
4.) This is your first individual state title. What does that mean to you, and how does it feel?
The goal should always be to see growth and improvement you know I went from 65,20,13,19,7,1 in state placing and I am more than happy with that. But, honestly for me I love the sport for the competitive thrill but to be part of a team(s) for 6 years and have some amazing teammates and being part of a family. I love the feeling of bringing some hardware home to the supportive community of Bowman and sharing the riches with my teammates old and new. I hope that winning spirit and family atmosphere stays around for a long time.
5.) For the first time since 2011 and only the third time since 2003, a team other than New Town won the state team title. In your time at Bowman County, your team has placed 5th, 3rd, 5th, 3rd, 2nd, and now 1st at state. What does it mean to you, in your senior season, to finally get that team win?
It’s unbelievable, I had some really fast people running on the team when I first joined the sport and then I became one of those guys. New Town always had some fast dudes, it’s an incredible program they run, I fully anticipate them to bounce right back. When you get 2nd or runner-up at state you feel good about the win, but you just have doubt about how you could have been better. I really wanted to see my senior teammate, Camden Wokal to be part of a winning team. And we fell short, so to come back and win it my senior year. I think it just shows how hungry the team was for a win. The team even before I was around wanted blood, they led the polls right away. When I came back it just intensified and grew stronger.
6.) On the topic of New Town, what has it been like racing for years in a region dominated by a team other than your own?
Not even going to lie it has been tough, as an athlete I’ve lost to them in Track and Cross Country repeatedly. When we beat them in regionals Junior year in Cross Country it was a big reward, but we lost to them at state. It’s a amazing program and amazing coaches they deserved everything they got.
7.) Obviously this year is different. We all know that every walk of life has been changed by the pandemic. Your track season was cut in the spring, and you didn’t know how cross country would play out. How did you cope with not having track last season?
It’s just the way of life I was sad at the time but looking at it now nothing I could do about it anyways. Just go with the flow.
8.) What has it been like to train through the pandemic and keep your sights on goals that you have?
Training through the pandemic was easy except maybe for the open windows on the bus that got pretty chilly. The hard part was when some kind of covid-19 news happen. Like someone got sick or this person was a close contact. I mean that’s two weeks of their life’s just poof and as you got closer to state that was hard to take. Most of us runners went to distance learning the week or 2 before state so we wouldn’t end up on anybody’s close contact list. When we found out that they were taking the tradition number of 10 runners and cut it to 7 runners that was a hardest pill to swallow. I want everyone on the team to compete no matter how good or bad. The goal never faltered we have studs and were deep. If anything it made me want to run faster for the ones who worked so hard for their season just to not even go.
9.) What does the rest of cross country season look like for you? Are there any races to go to? How about for track- what are your goals there?
Just going to prepare for college and get good grades. Probably not any more races but practices to stay in shape. My goals for track I will have to develop when the sport if the sport starts. Take some time off and sharpen my running tools.
10.) Do you have plans to run in college? Have you committed anywhere?
I would love to run in college and I haven’t committed anywhere just looking at some places for the time being.
11.) To what or to whom can you attribute this success you’ve experienced?
I got better from losing and wanting to win. So my teammates and my rivals all push me.
12.) What does running mean to you?
My parents didn’t let me join football when I was young so I joined Cross Country and I loved it. I was not a good runner at the time but slowly developed into one. For me running embraced a competitive spirt and I loved competition. I play basketball and track and you don’t have a family aspect like you do through cross country and running. Cross country teammates are family even the ones who leave the sport.
13.) What’s your favorite place to run in North Dakota?
We have this road here in Bowman that we call Cemetery Road, we have countless miles on this road. It’s almost the perfect road to run on because it goes east and west with hills. That would be my favorite place besides a state course atmosphere.
14.) What words of advice can you give to those who are interested in running?
Words of advice, I think I would start about by saying running isn’t for everyone- it takes incredible amount of work. But also you don’t immediately become good you have to put the work in. Being a runner is a great reward every day you can see your goals improve. Increasing your distance, time, just general health is the biggest reward you can see for yourself and competing for your teammates it’s both spirit and guts.
15.) What adversity have you experienced with running, and what did you do to overcome it?
I could give a sob story about shin splints, hamstring pain, and about how I had to wear compression sleeves on my knees. But none of that matters, its truly a mental sport. You can run another mile and you can increase your time. You just have to believe in your training.
16.) Do you have any runners from North Dakota that you’ve drawn inspiration from or look up to? What about professional runners?
There’s a couple boys up at NDSU that I can think of. Most notedly Alex Bartholomay, who is also from bowman and was my teammate when I was in seventh grade. He pushed me in practice because I thought it was unbelievable that he could start a mile behind me and beat me by a mile. Alex always passed me in this one particular spot on commentary road, every day I would grow a step stronger because of him. The competition edge was awesome. Also Isaac Huber, he was the only one that could run with New Town and beat some of them. As professionals go it would definitely be Steve Prefontaine who went from some hometown hero to a record breaking long distance runner and a quote of his “Somebody might beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it” was pretty impactful for me.
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