8/12/2019 Roesler

1/1

A10 Sunday, June 8, 2014 The ForumTHE LEGEND OF LAURA

be the best 800-meterrunner at Oregon. She will

be one of the best, and thatis saying something.Just as she did at Fargo

South, Roesler has flourishedat one of the countrys top

college track programs.So focused is Oregon on

winning nationals that it did notmake Roesler or most of its other

track stars available for interviewsin the weeks leading up to the yearsfinal meet.

Immediate impactLauras high school varsity

success was immediate. In her firstvarsity race, she took fourth placeat the 2004 East Region crosscountry championships. She was injunior high races the previous fall.

The region race came a coupleweeks before she finished second atstate.

Brianne Carlsrud was a senior onthat falls South girls cross countryteam. She remembers Laura being aseventh-grader with not only thetalent, but the right temperament tobe a running success.

She was very mature and reallyheld herself together, so I saw a lotof potential there, Carlsrud said.I really look up to her and whatshe has accomplished.

Karen, Lauras mom, was hesitantto have Laura compete on varsity inseventh grade. She wanted to giveLaura a chance to be a kid and hangout with her friends and classmates.

Laura played soccer througheighth grade and basketball throughher sophomore year. Karen felt itwas important that Laura didntzero in on running right away.

Roesler added a Class A girls statetitle in the 400 meters to cap herseventh-grade year at the statetrack meet in Grand Forks.

She beat two-time defending statechamp Allie Smith, who was a seniorfrom Wahpeton. A week earlier,Roesler edged Smith to win the 400 atthe East Region, setting a meetrecord with a time of 57.33 seconds.

When she won, I was a littledumbfounded, said Lynn Roesler,Lauras dad. We certainly werentexpecting that.

A legend is bornLauras legend took off at the end

of her eighth-grade track seasonfollowing an unprecedentedshowing at the state meet.

On a sweltering day at BismarcksCommunity Bowl, she took firstplace in the 100, 200, 400 and 800meters. Laura ran those races in aspan of about 2 hours.Temperatures were in the 90s.

It put a lot of pressure on herbecause now shes got to do that thenext four years, said Kyle Roesler,Lauras twin brother.

By the end of her prep career, shewas a two-time state cross-countrychamp. She won six state titles inthe 400, five in both the 200 and 800and four in the 100. All told, Laurawon 22 state titles.

Bismarck High boys track coachDave Zittleman manages anunofficial all-time Top 10 Class Agirls performance list on theBismarck track website. Accordingto that list, Roesler still ranks first in

the 200 (24.01), 400 (53.25) and 800(2:05.68) and second in the 100 (11.90).

She is the greatest track andfield athlete in North Dakotahistory in any generation,Zittleman said. No one is the statecross-country champion and the100-meter-dash champion.

No one except for Laura. But thepressure started to build aftereighth grade.

The next year, there was a littlemore pressure; the next year afterthat, a little more pressure, momKaren said. She felt like everybodyknew who she was and there wasalways that pressure to win.

Under pressureThe pressure reached a boiling

point at Lauras final state trackmeet in 2010. It was different thanall the other state meets, dad Lynnsaid. She was more uptight.

Kyle remembers athletes fromother schools lining up outsideSouths team tent, wanting to get anautograph or a picture with Laura.After the first day of the meet,Karen got a knock on her hotelroom door. It was Laura.

She said, I cant sleep and I had arough day, Karen said.

On the second and final day of themeet, Karen said her oldestdaughter, Emily Roesler, followedLaura around.

I finally got a pass for Emily andmade Emily her bodyguard, Karensaid.

Laura defended her titles in the200, 400 and 800, and took second inthe 100, ending her four-year reignin that event. Minot freshmanMorgan Milbrath, who now runs atNorth Dakota State, edged Laura atthe finish line to win the 100 with atime of 12.35 seconds. Roesler ran a12.38.

I think the crowd was moredisappointed than (Laura) was andthat is that pressure, Kyle said.She learned a lot in high schoolabout sometimes youve just got tolet things go. You cant let thingsbother you.

Going nationalRoesler started to earn national

attention while still in high school.After her sophomore year, she ran

at the 2008 JimBushChampionships inLos Angeles. Karenwas there and worriedthe elite talent may betoo much.

I remember callingLynn and going Oh mygosh, were out of ourleague here, Karen said.

Laura took third in the 800with a 2:03.08. Herperformance would clinch aspot in the U.S. Olympic TeamTrials for track and field,

which were later that summerat Hayward Field. That was thefirst time Karen saw Laura hadthe poise to compete at the topnational level.

She can just handle it, Karensaid. She can zero in on what sheneeds to do. You have to be able todo that.

Roesler was 16 years old when sheran at the 2008 Trials. She made it tothe semifinals after running a2:04.03 in the quarterfinals. She wasan instant crowd favorite since shewas still in high school and wore aplain pink top.

The crowd went nuts, Kyle said.When she was running down theback stretch, the announcer said

she was a high school sophomore.That was a pretty special moment.

This is itLaura graduates next Sunday.

Karen said Laura named womensPac-12 Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May wantsto be a sports psychologist after herrunning career, which will likelycontinue beyond college. That couldinclude a pro career and the 2016Summer Olympics in Brazil.

Shes the total package, saidlongtime track reporter Goe.Youve got to give up a lot of thingsto do that. It is not a glorious sport.

Parents Karen and Lynn werewith Laura at the Oregon teamcelebration after the NCAA

Division I Indoor Championshipslast March in Albuquerque, N.M.Laura took first place in the 800,running a 2:03.85 to earn her firstindividual national title for Oregon.

She also ran on the Ducks 1,600-relay team that edged Texas in thefinal event of the meet. That relaywin gave Oregon the womens teamtitle by half a point over theLonghorns.

Laura didnt want her parents toleave the team gathering. Karencould tell something was up, so theystepped away from the celebrationto talk.

She said Mom, the time went sofast, Karen said. The light bulbkind of went off. This is it.

Readers can reach Forum reporterEric Peterson at (701) 241-5513

2005 Roesler, a seventh-grader, wins theClass A girls state title in the 400 metersin a time of 57.88 seconds, beatingWahpeton senior Allie Smith, who was thetwo-time defending state champion in theevent.

2006 Roesler defeats Lakeville (Minn.) North senior Elizabeth Yetzer in the 800 meters at the Lakeville North MegaMeet, running a 2:11.62. Roesler breaks the Fargo South school record with that time. Yetzer took first place inthe two-mile at the Nike Outdoor Nationals the previous summer and had signed at the University ofMinnesota. Roesler caps her eighth-grade track season in the spring, winning the Class A girls 100 (12.40 seconds),200 (25.07), 400 (57.67) and 800 meters (2:20.53) at the state meet in Bismarck. She wins those races in aspan of about 2 hours. Roesler completes her freshman cross country season, winning the Class A girls race at the state meet in atime of 14:33.

2007 Roesler ends her freshman track season with another four individual statetitles. For a second consecutive year she wins the 100 (12.90), 200 (25.75),400 (55.56) and 800 (2:17.11). Her time in the 400 sets an overall state meetrecord. As a sophomore, Roesler defends her Class A girls state cross country titlewith a time of 14:36.53.

2008 For a third consecutive spring, Roesler, a sophomore, takes first place in the Class A girls 100,200, 400 and 800 at state, improving her career total to 13 state championships. She caps her daywith a 2:10.78 in the 800, setting an overall meet record. After her sophomore season, Roesler makes a splash on the national scene at the Jim BushChampionships. She finishes third in the 800 with a time of 2:03.08 to virtually clinch a spot in theU.S. Olympic Team Trials for track and field. A 16-year-old Roesler advances to the semifinals at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.,running a 2:04.03 in the quarterfinals in front of a sold-out crowd of 16,500 fans at Hayward Field.

2010 Roesler wins the800 meters specialevent at theprestigious HowardWood Relays inSioux Falls, S.D., ina record time of2:05.76, the bestprep time in thenation to that pointin the season. In her final prep

meet, Roesler winsthree Class A statetitles in the 200(24.90), 400 (53.25)and 800 (2:17.64)to complete hercareer with 20 statecrowns. Shefinishes second inthe 100 to Minotfreshman MorganMilbrath. Roesleredges Milbrath by0.06 seconds in the400, setting anoverall meet record.Both those 400times rank amongthe best outdoorhigh schoolperformances in the

nation that spring. Roesler finishessecond in the 800at the USA JuniorOutdoor Track andField Championshipin a time of 2:05.80.She earns a spoton Team USA forthe World JuniorGames later thatyear. At those WorldJuniors, Roesler ison the gold medal1,600-relay teamthat ran a 3:31.20.

2011 During her freshman trackseason at the University ofOregon, Roesler anchors the1,600-meter relay team that runsa school record at the NCAADivision I OutdoorChampionships and finishesthird with a time of 3:28.18.

LAU

RA

ROESLERTH

ROUGHTHE

YEARS

2004 A seventh-grader running in her thirdvarsity race, Laura Roesler takes secondplace in Class A girls at the North Dakotastate cross country meet, covering the 4kilometers in 15 minutes, 18.76 seconds.

2009 Roesler starts her junior track season by winning the 800 at the Nike Indoor Nationals in Boston, runninga time of 2:08.80. Roesler completes her season with four more state outdoor titles in the 100 (12.45), 200 (25.16), 400(55.37) and 800 (2:13.92). She sets an overall meet record in the 400. Roesler finishes second in the 800 at the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships in a time of2:07.41 and earns a spot on Team USA for the Pan American Junior Games later that year.

2014 Roesler earns herfirst individual nationaltitle, taking first place inthe 800 at the NCAADivision I Indoor Trackand FieldChampionships inAlbuquerque, N.M., witha time of 2:03.85. Roesler wins her thirdconsecutive Pac-12crown in the 800 with atime of 2:05.77. She is

also named womensPac-12 Track and FieldScholar-Athlete of theYear.

2013 Roesler takes second place at the NCAA Division IIndoor Championships in the 800 in a time of 2:02.32.Roesler was also on Oregons 1,600 relay that wonan NCAA indoor national title in a time of 3:30.22. Roesler wins her second consecutive Pac-12 titlein the 800 with a time of 2:06.51, and finishes insecond place at the NCAA Division I OutdoorChampionships in a time of 2:00.98. Roesler finishes fifth in the 800 at the USAOutdoor Track and Field Championships in Des

Moines, Iowa, with a career-best time of 2:00.23.

2012 As a sophomore, Roesler wins her firstPac-12 championship in the 800 with atime of 2:05.13. She also runs on Oregons1,600 relay that took first place at theNCAA Division I Outdoor Championshipswith a time of 3:24.54, a meet record andthe second-fastest time in collegiatehistory. A 20-year-old Roesler competes in hersecond U.S. Olympic Trials and advancesto the semifinals where she runs a2:03.35, the 10th-best overall time. She

just misses making the finals.

LAURAFrom Page A1