Mid-way through her Sections race, freshman Nora Lindeman received the news from her coach that she was on the cusp of securing a spot at State. According to Lindeman, this was all the motivation she needed to finish what she called her most accomplished  performance ever.

“Halfway through my second lap, my coach started yelling at me and told me that I was in the last spot (in State). I just took off from there,” Lindeman said. “After I’d finished, my coach came up to me and told me that I had qualified, and I was in shock. I had the best race of my life.”

Along with Lindeman, sophomore Jersey Miller also qualified for State after Sections Oct. 27. According to Miller, she was the lone Park runner to go to State as an eighth-grader, so she enjoyed running with a teammate this time.

“When I went by myself, it was just me and the coaches, which was cool because I got to know them better, but (Nora) is such a fun person to be around,” Miller said.

Coach Chris Nordstrom said the whole team put in a lot of effort throughout the season, and having two runners go to State is a rewarding reflection of the work they did. 

“I’m just super excited for those two,” Nordstrom said. “As a team, the girls’ program worked so hard to get to that point, so to know that we had representation at the state meet is meaningful.”

Miller and Lindeman competed at State Nov. 7 with Miller finishing 46th and Lindeman finishing 104th out of 160 runners. 

Miller said many of her cross country teammates came to cheer them on. 

“A lot of the team got up early in the morning on their weekend to ride a bus down to St. Olaf with us. We had a speaker on the bus blasting music, we played games beforehand, we had some cards, there were posters,” Miller said. “There was just a lot of support. It was a really good environment to be in.”

According to Lindeman, the race was filled with cheering spectators. “There were so many people at the finish, it was like the State Fair,” Lindeman said. “It was so exciting to be there and be part of that.”