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 In the fall of 2020, the top-placing 7th grader at state cross country was Brynn Hanson of Des Lacs-Burlington High School, just west of Minot, ND. She placed 10th with a 5k time of 20:15. Later that school year, at state track, she completed the distance quadruple, running all four distance events at the state meet- placing 4th in the 1600, 6th in the 800, 13th as a member of the 4x800, and won the 3200 in a time of 11:31.35, her first state title. With how young the whole state was for Class B girls, it was really a toss-up as to what would happen in the next cross country season. Relying heavily on previous year's results, Hanson was ranked 8th in the first coaches poll and 6th in the second. Due to not seeing many girls in the top 10 throughout the regular season, she was overlooked in the polls, and she didn't even crack the top 5 until the 5th week. On the course, she was dominating, winning most of her meets during the regular season, with an exception- a loss to Hannah Westin of Shiloh at the Skyhawk Invitational on September 18th. Avenging that 24-second loss, Hanson came back and won the West Region Meet, besting Hestin by four seconds with a PR of 19:19. |
Two weeks later at the state meet, she roared to a first place finish with a time of 19:25- 15 seconds better than anyone else in the field and 21 seconds better than Westin. She still has five years of track and four years of cross country left!
I think I realized I could do a lot better than the year before when I was able to get a qualifying mile time last spring. I didn’t realize what I could do, and I was still learning that up until the state meet this year. I think it really hit me when I was able to come away with first place finishes at Rugby and Regionals.
3.) Take us through your title-winning race. What was your strategy going in? Did you follow it? Any surprises?
I was more focused on racing instead of time, which I think is most people's strategy at state. I was just making sure to be in the right positions and use the tips my coaches gave me. If anything, I was surprised how strong I felt throughout the whole race.
4.) Incredibly, you only lost one race all season- to Hannah Westin from Shiloh at the Skyhawk Invitational. Even though you beat her at the Region and State Meets, she beat you by 24 seconds that day. What was different that day? How did it affect your mindset the rest of the season?
I actually placed third at a Velva meet during the beginning of the season. I had never beat Hannah in any cross country meets before the Rugby meet, so I didn’t really expect to win the Skyhawk Invitational. I know Hannah is a strong competitor and my goal was just to stick with her as long as I could. After that race, I hoped to be able to close the gap between us.
(editor's note- sorry Brynn that I didn't know about the Velva meet! It's not on athletic.net and that's what I used...)
5.) Last school year you won the 3200m title at state track as a 7th grader. What is your background in sports and competition that allowed you to already be at that level in 7th grade?
Winning that race was very surprising for me. I didn’t expect that at all. I really only had experience from cross country that year, but I’ve done little recreational runs in elementary school which introduced me to the sports. Before that, my only sport was hockey. Hockey is really different from running because you use different muscle groups and it’s a whole different game. So, I really have no idea!
6.) As a result of last spring, did you feel pressure or a target on your back this season?
A little, but my parents kept reassuring me that the only pressure I felt was being put on me by myself. I tried to stay calm before each race, and reassure myself that whatever happened, my family would be proud.
7.) Talk a little bit about your training. What’s your favorite kinds of workouts? What do your easy/mileage days normally consist of?
I just follow the coaches plans, and try to do them to the best of my ability. I really like speed days and lifting because I know it plays a big role behind the scenes. The farthest run we did this season was seven and a half miles. We’ve only had our program for two years, and our training plans have really grown from last year.
8.) The next girl on your team to finish was almost a minute a half behind you, and the top boy on your team was about 20 seconds in front of you. I’m assuming that there are times in workouts where you’re by yourself pushing in the front. How do you get through that? What motivates you?
I know that if I don’t push myself and try my hardest with each workout, it isn’t going to benefit me. Usually I will run with someone that is also wanting to push themselves that day.
9.) Do you participate in any winter sports, or do you get ready for track?
I play hockey and between practice and games it’s a busy schedule. I know I need to run on those few days we don’t have practice, but I don’t always get to it. I really enjoy both sports, but I try to focus and dedicate my time to the sport I’m currently competing in.
10.) Speaking of track, any early thoughts about what you might want to accomplish during track this year?
Right now I’m just trying to focus on my hockey season, and trying to get a few runs in. I don’t like thinking about it because it makes me super nervous, but I want to try and uphold everything from last track season and also do better. I might not be doing as much for track as most kids, but I hope I can use the things I learned last year to have a great season.
11.) What is running to you? Why do you do it?
Running helps me to get in shape for hockey and some time to focus on myself. I’m left with my thoughts and feelings when I run, and I like having this time to think. My mom was a runner and she helps me stay motivated through everything I choose to do.
12.) What’s your favorite place (so far) to run in North Dakota?
So far it’s the courses that I ran my state meets on. During the first race, the trees were covered in snow and it was really calm when you weren’t around anyone cheering. During the most recent race, there was a very pretty view over the water, and the weather was great too.
13.) Do you have any North Dakota runners that you look up to? What about college or professional athletes?
I had the opportunity to go to a running camp and interact with people like Maddie Van Beek and Annika Rotvold. They both are amazing athletes and I hope to be able to accomplish a fraction of what they have. Andrew Carlson is also an amazing person and runner, and he is able to make running enjoyable and put it on a deeper level.
14.) Can you offer up any advice you’ve learned along the way to people who might be interested in cross country?
I’ve learned that people really
like to exaggerate on how running is hard and there’s no point, but I think
that people's opinions shouldn’t always influence yours. I think the whole
point is that there are lots of things that are hard, and you have to be able
to get over that mental block and take on challenges. Also, it really is fun
and you meet so many amazing people.
