Northwestern senior Ella Boekelheide completed her prep cross country career on Saturday in Huron as a three-time state champ. The Wildcat standout won it as an eight grader, a junior, and now a senior.
Boekelheide crossed the finish line at the state meet with a time of 18:44.27, a near 28-second lead over Nora Olsen of Deubrook Area, who finished the ‘B’ girls race as the runner-up.
In cross country, you’re not always going to have someone running right next to you. In those moments, the mentality of the sport takes over.
“Cross country is really just you against your mind, even if there is someone next to you. It definitely helps when you’re running if you have someone to push you, but when you’re out there by yourself, you really have to stay focused,” explained Boekelheide. “It’s easy to daydream and drift off, but I’ve learned you really just have to stay focused. It’s you against your mind out there. I’m a senior, so I’ve been doing it for a while. I kind of just trust my intuition as I’m running. I don’t have a super specific game plan. It went as I imagined.”
Northwestern finished runner-up as a team behind Ipswich, another great program when it comes to cross country. A second-place finish for the Wildcats is something Boekelheide is proud of.
“I love those girls. It’s just so fun to be with them every day and push each other. It’s amazing to see them succeed,” she said.
Next year, Boekelheide will take her running skills to the DI level in college at South Dakota State University.
“Northwestern, it’s a small, tight knit community and I think SDSU is also tight knit, and I think those environments are very similar. It’ll be an easier transition,” exclaimed Boekelheide. “I love the team culture, that was really important to me. I love the blue collar feel of SDSU, just every day coming and betting on yourself and just being so committed to yourself in the sport. But overall, just the team, and I love that SDSU provides that.”
Boekelheide is also a setter for the Northwestern volleyball program. The Wildcats are currently seeded No. 2 in the Class B volleyball standings. They’ll wrap up their regular season this week and then prepare for the post-season. For Boekelheide, she has goals in that sport as well.
“Make it to the state tournament and compete at a high level,” she said. “I’m really excited about that.”
Balancing multiple sports is common in South Dakota, especially in the smaller school districts. For Boekelheide, she said balancing volleyball and cross country in the fall has made her a more responsible person.
“Having a practice in the morning and a practice at night, you really have to re-fuel, rest, and recover well,” she stated. “So, that’s been interesting to figure out the balance between that, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world and it’s so, so worth it.”
But before she gets back onto the volleyball court, Boekelheide is embracing and celebrating her high-level career in cross country. Again, a resume that includes a three-time state champion, two runner-up finishes as a freshman and sophomore, and a top 10 finish as a seventh grader when her varsity career began.
“They’re all amazing. This one definitely has more emotion attached to it since it is my last race,” she said smiling. “They’re all amazing, but this one, I wanted to go out with a bang.”
