Who or what has been your greatest inspiration throughout your athletic career?
They have all graduated now, but at the time that I joined my sports, the girls that were older. Seeing them work hard made me want to work hard, and I wanted to reach the same level they were on.
What first drew you to cross country, Nordic skiing and track and field?
I started cross country because I was bored during COVID-19, and that was just a natural segue to track and field. There was this one girl—Jersey Miller—who convinced me to join Nordic skiing.
Do you notice any differences in the nature or competitiveness of your sports? Are there a lot of similarities?
In all of the sports, I have definitely become more competitive than I was when I joined. They are all different and (are unique) in their competitiveness. All of my sports start differently. In Nordic skiing, we do more individual time starts, and unless you are chasing someone or someone is chasing you, you are alone for a lot of the race. It’s more mental. In cross country and track and field, you are starting at the same time, (meaning) anyone who is racing at anywhere around the same pace as you will be next to you for the whole time. That is what sets them apart. Though cross country and track and field are fast, in Nordic skiing, the people who are really fast are the ones you are never going to see. One race, I started 30 seconds behind a girl—she was only 30 seconds in front of me when she started—and I never saw her once.
How do you transition from season to season?
Last summer, I ran more than I roller skied. I’m out of town (for) a lot of the summer, (meaning) I don’t always have the things I need and the space to train. At the start of the Nordic skiing season, even though I’m roller skiing, I’m still running a little bit. Once I get into the Nordic season, I’m not running at all, and I am just skiing. When the Nordic season ends, I begin running a little bit again before the track season. The transition is just how much I’m running.
As a three-sport athlete, what do you take from one sport and apply to another?
I take away the mentality of “I am here to work,” “I am here to work hard” and “I am here to succeed”—“I belong at that higher level.” That, for me, is what I have really struggled to wrap my head around—the feeling that I belong with those girls who, for a long time, I thought were so much faster than me. I know I can keep up with them.
In consideration of your successes and the effort it took to get where you are today, what are you most proud of?
I’m proud of how much work I’ve put in and how far I have managed to come. I never thought that I would ever go to State for Nordic skiing, and then last year, we won as a team and I got pulled along to State. This year, I’m going individually. That’s a long journey from being recruited to being where I am today.
Do you have any advice for younger athletes who look up to you?
Keep working hard. Just keep showing up and staying consistent. Find the joy in the process because it makes the reward that much better.
Do you have a favorite race in cross country, Nordic skiing or track and field? (Do you have a favorite meet?)
For cross country, I really like (the Roy Griak Invitational). It is one of our invites. It is really fun to race, and it’s another one of those really fast meets. I get to run with all of those really fast girls. For Nordic skiing, the State meet is really fun. We get to stay in the villas because it’s so far away, and we really get a lot of time to bond and, obviously, race. For track and field, I really like True Team because historically, I’ve run really well there and there are a lot of girls who can help push me.
What is the best place (a “secret spot”) to run or ski?
I went skiing at Elm Creek yesterday with the new snow and it was a lot more expansive than I ever thought it was. We ended up getting lost, but it was really nice. I like running the Loose Line Trail or the Minnetonka LRT Regional Trail—nice crushed gravel and soft.
