On October 21st and 22nd, 2021, the North Dakota State Cross Country Meet was held at Parkhurst Recreation Area just outside of Jamestown, ND. The Class B races were held on Friday, and the Class A races were held on Saturday.
In the Class B races, held in nice conditions of a light breeze and temperatures in the 40s, the Bowman County men prevailed for the second year in a row, while Ian Busche of Beulah-Hazen took the individual title. On the girl's side of things, Rugby won their third consecutive team title as 8th grader Brynn Hanson of Des-Lacs/Burlington took first place.
The next day, in similar conditions for the Class A races, Williston showed team greatness by winning both the boy's and girl's team titles. They also won the individual title in the girl's race, with Eleni Lovgren winning by 17 seconds, while Aiden Johnson of West Fargo Sheyenne ran away with the boy's race.
The following is part of a series where I do a Q&A interview and each of the individual state champions. Last year's interviews, along with many other interviews and North Dakota running research can be found here.
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| Photo Credit: Tom Mix / NDHSAA Media Specialist Eleni Lovgren first ran at state cross country in 7th grade, placing 41st with a time of 20:33. By the time she finished middle school, she had already jumped up to 10th place. Freshman year brought her first first-team all-state placement in 8th place, and she continued climbing upwards, finishing 5th as a sophomore and 4th as a junior. However, between cross country and track, placing higher than 4th remained elusive. Last year, when she was a junior, her team benefitted from two new fast 7th graders and won the team title. But individually, it had been hard to be so close to the top year after year without quite reaching it. Going into this season, Lovgren was not the top returner, because at the previous state meet Jaelyn Ogle from Watford City had finished 20 seconds ahead of her. This however did not deter coaches from voting Lovgren the preseason favorite in the first coaches poll. I also picked her as my pre-season favorite, and my logic was based only on the fact that she had run a really strong, course-breaking 5k race at the Maah Daah Hey the summer before the season started (evidence here). Williston as a team was ranked #2 behind Bismarck High. As the season went on, Eleni showed that she was truly the person to beat in the state of North Dakota, and Williston as a team showed that they could tangle with anybody in the state, and in fact commandingly won the Region Meet. Eleni had a lone blemish at that same meet, placing second by 12 seconds to Bayla Weigel of Bismarck High. However, she turned loss into gain and turned around to win the State Meet by 17 seconds, her first individual title, and helped her team to their 2nd team title in a row (winning by 47 points). She stayed focused year after year, and it finally paid off! Below is Eleni's answers to my questions. It's always fun to get to know these great athletes a little better. Thank you Eleni! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
1.) Congrats on your victory! Now that you’ve had some time to decompress and take a step away from cross country, how do you feel? This was your first state title, right?
Thank you so much! Yes it was my first state title. Winning state cross country has been my goal for a long time now, and it’s just now setting in that I actually accomplished it. I’ve watched other people win it for the other five years I’ve been in cross country, and I’m blessed that it’s my turn to be one of those people now.
2.) 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?
I’ve known since 7th grade that I could win state cross country someday, and it’s always been my goal. More recently though, I ran a hill workout this summer and felt super fit, and after that I thought of the title as mine to lose, even though nobody else probably saw it like that.
3.) Take us through your title-winning race. What was your strategy going in? Did you follow it? Any surprises?
I had a clear strategy going into the race, and I stuck to it. My plan was to start out conservatively and work my way up to the front, using the turns and the hills to my benefit. I planned to take the lead with 800 left if I didn’t have it already.
As far as the actual race goes, it went almost exactly to plan. I was in 7th for the first 400 meters, and I worked my way up to 2nd by the first mile. I felt strong and relaxed so I made another move. I took the lead at the mile and a quarter and never looked back. The only surprise was how early I was able to take the lead.
4.) After a season where you were winning every meet in the state of North Dakota, you took second at the WDA Region Meet. What changed in that race? How did it change your mindset going into the state meet?
I’ve thought about that race a little, but I’m still not sure exactly what happened. I ran to the best of my ability for that day but came up short. It definitely changed my mindset, but in a good way. I went into state with a chip on my shoulder and focused hard on my recovery for the next two weeks. I liked the underdog position I was put in. My one and only individual goal this season was the state title, and I trusted God with that. All I can say is that I didn’t win WDA for a reason, and God’s plan is better than mine.
5.) For the last couple of years, many athletes felt like they were racing for second because Meghan Ford was running some crazy fast times. Did you feel like the competition opened up a little more this year?
Only somewhat. Athletes like Meghan don’t come around very often, and they’re tough to beat, but the competition was still strong this year.
6.) Did you feel pressure to win state this year? Like a target on your back?
The only pressure I felt was from myself. I reminded myself constantly that it was my last chance to get my goal, and that I was going to do everything in my power to get it. It was a good kind of pressure though, the kind that motivates me every day and drives me towards my goal, and tells me to do one more mile or run one more rep.
I never really felt like I had a target on my back, or like I was the clear favorite. It seemed to me like the other contenders for the title looked at winning as their goal, not beating me.
7.) Your team and the boy’s team both won the state titles as a team. What was it like to train on a team that has had such a successful season? Was that the goal for the teams all along- to win state? Do you have teammates that can push you in practice?
It’s a whole different experience training with a team that is training for a title. I’ve been on both ends (only four years ago our team took 16th at state) and the energy at practice is completely different. It felt like that last year especially; all we talked about during workouts and recovery runs was winning the title.
Winning state was the goal for both of our teams all along, and that’s all we had in mind. Most of our girls team are middle schoolers, so I trained with the boys team in the summer so that I could get some higher mileage weeks in. They pushed me a lot, both in recovery runs and workouts, and that’s where I gained a lot of confidence about the upcoming season.
8.) What did it mean as a senior to come out here and get the win when it mattered most?
It meant the world to me. All the years I’ve worked for it paid off, and coming down the home stretch I felt incredibly blessed that it was actually happening. It’s crazy thinking that October 23rd was the climax of all my training since seventh grade, and everything fell into place perfectly when it mattered most.
All of my family was there too, and I was happy to make them proud because that’s what I work for too. Whenever I’m struggling in a workout I think of them, and I keep going because I want to make them proud. I know that they’d be proud of me anyways, but I was glad to be able to win it for them.
It just felt good to end my high school cross country career on a good note, and leave North Dakota with the best race of my life and with my name in the history books.
9.) Do you have any plans after graduation? Are you interested in running at the college level?
Yes! I’m definitely planning on running in college, and I’ve visited a few schools but I’m still uncommitted. I would’ve liked to be signed a bit sooner, but I’m taking my time and making sure I consider all of my options. Besides that, I don’t have any summer plans yet except for trail and road racing.
10.) What is your background in sports? Did you start running at a young age, or is it relatively new?
I’ve been running most of my life, probably since second grade. My dad ran cross country and track in high school, and he got me into it. I ran through the rec programs, but I never wanted to go to practice. Once I got to practice I remembered how much I loved running fast. By the time I was eight or nine I was running almost every day in the summer, and “training” for the one-mile kids road races.
11.) Talk a little bit about your training. What’s your favorite kinds of workouts? What do your easy/mileage days normally consist of?
My favorite cross country workout is either start pace 800’s on the bike path or 300’s at mixed race paces. My go-to for track is eight 400’s at 1600 pace, but I’m planning on switching it up more this year. My regular runs are typically 7 miles when I’m healthy, but 5 miles or aqua jogging when I’m not.
12.) You raced at the Nike Regional Meet. How did you prepare after the North Dakota season ended? How did the race play out for you? Did you meet your goal?
I took two days off after the state meet, then got back into training. I mostly just ran mileage and regular runs, and I didn’t prepare well. My goal was top 10, but I DEFINITELY did not reach it (I got 62nd). I ran 18:43, which was a huge course PR for me, and one of my faster times this season. I gave what I had for the day so I can’t be disappointed with the results. Overall it was one of the most fun races I’ve ever ran and a great way to close out my high school cross country career.
13.) Any plans for a winter sport, or is it time to focus on track?
Time to focus on track! I started training November 29th, and I have big goals that I’m working towards.
14.) Speaking of track, any early thoughts about what you might want to accomplish during track this year?
Yes, I have one big goal that I’m focusing on, and I’m keeping it private and working towards it every day.
15.) What is running to you? Why do you do it?
I run because I love it, but also because I love winning and competing. It also gives me a purpose and goals to chase, and I’m a very goal-oriented person so that’s important to me.
16.) What’s your favorite place (so far) to run in North Dakota?
The Maah Daah Hey trail. I go to the Long X trailhead with my dad to run and bike pretty often, and we race at the Maah Daah Hey trail race every year. It’s the highlight of my summer.
17.) Have you experienced adversity with running? If so, how did you overcome it?
Yes, there've been many seasons where I've trained harder than ever before and got little to no return for it. I started putting in a lot more miles my sophomore year of off-track, and started plateauing at that same time. Between my sophomore and junior year of cross country, I only cut one place at state and seven seconds off my PR. Between my freshman and junior year of track I only cut one second off my 3200 and got the same place at state both years. I fell at the finish of the 1600 at state and got outkicked for third. I only cut two seconds off my 800 and I had one of my worst 800 races of the season at state.
Even though it was tough, I overcame it by continuing to put in the miles and working harder each season. I never lost sight of my goal and eventually it paid off. It just showed me that hard work doesn’t always pay off right away, but if you keep showing up it always pays off eventually.
18.) Do you have any North Dakota runners that you look up to? What about college or professional athletes?
I look up to Sean Korsmo a lot. He's a great role model as both a runner and a person, and he talks a lot about running for God and that’s influenced me quite a bit.
As far as college and pro athletes go, my favorite has to be Deena Kastor. I read her book Let Your Mind Run, and it completely changed my mindset and the way I thought about running.
19.) Can you offer up any advice you’ve learned along the way to people who might be interested in cross country?
Set high goals and work for them. It’s a challenging sport with not a lot of glamour, but it’s extremely rewarding.
