Deubrook Area’s Nora Olsen captures Class B girls state cross-country championship

RAPID CITY — Deubrook Area junior Nora Olsen and her teammates are getting ready for the volleyball postseason. But first things first – they needed to deal with the Class B state cross-country championships Saturday at Hart Ranch near Rapid City.

Olsen did just that very well. After running to the Class B runner-up finish last season, she dominated from start to finish to win this year’s race in 18 minutes, 27.3 seconds, well ahead of the second-place finisher, Ipswich’s Isabella Galbraith.

“It’s been a lot of fun. Having a great team and great coaching staff is paying off right now,” Olsen said as the Dolphins finished third as a team.

After running behind 2025 winner, Northwestern’s Ella Boekelheide, Olsen said she just wanted to win her own race in this year’s meet.

“Ella is a heck of an athlete,” she said. “If I really wanted it last year, I would have had to attack it and it just wasn’t there. I just had to try hard and keep my placing, and I got it.”

Coming out fast is Olsen’s strategy – just take the early lead and “if someone wanted to come join me, they can come join me. That’s how I run my race,” she said.

Deubrook Area head coach Pam Olsen, Nora’s mother, said her daughter knew what she wanted to do and what she needed to do.

“She has that mental capacity. She has grown throughout the years. And I think that running against Ella Boekelheide helped her,” said Pam Olsen. “Talking with Ella she knew what she needed to focus on and what she needed to do. She had a good attitude going into the race. There were nerves, but she is just a strong kid. She also watched her older siblings (two sisters and one brother) run.”

As far as playing two sports in the same season, Nora Olsen said the Deubrook Area coaches have worked well together in allowing them to play volleyball as well.

“She has been really great getting me to both and I am grateful my volleyball coach (Haley Lunden) allows it,” she said.

Nora said that she loves volleyball and two years ago she decided to join cross country. “I got second last year, so I thought I might as well try again and I won it.”

While she went from second to first in only her second year as a cross-country runner, Nora said that she can’t take things for granted as she tries to defend her title in 2027.

“Just because I won once, it doesn’t mean it comes easy. I just have to keep training hard,” she said.

Team-wise, Ipswich dominated the race with just 10 points, with five of their girls placing in the Top 20. It was the Tigers second straight title and 10th as a program.

Veteran Ipswich head coach Todd Thorson said his team came into the season with lofty goals, but it is all about improvement.

“They don’t talk about winning titles; it is all about improving every day,” said Thorson. "They had a great summer and usually a good summer turns into a championship season. They brought it every day in practice. I am so proud of them on how hard they worked."