Borkowski brings home running award; Team finishes third
2020 HCHS graduate and current Dordt Defender Senior Lucy Borkowski helped lead her track & field team to a third place finish at the Great Plains Athletic Conference held for two days at the Ruth Donohoe First Dakota Field House in Yankton, South Dakota.
“We got third at the conference which was pretty exciting for the women’s side,” Borkowski said. “In years past, we had gotten first, so it was a little sad, but there was a lot of good competition going on in all aspects.”
Borkowski took home 1st place in the 5000m event with a time of 18:14.26 for All Conference, which was a personal best time for her, finishing 12 seconds ahead of teammate Jessica Opfer, who came in 2nd.
The 4x800 relay team which includes Sadie Feucht, Jada Koerner, Jaci Burtis, and Shelby Buwalda took home 1st place with a time of 9:27.39, a season best for them.
Borkowski’s running career started when she was a junior at HCHS with cross country. Prior to running, she participated in other sports.
“I joined cross country my junior year,” she said. “Before that I had done volleyball and soccer, so then I switched to the running career path at around 16 or 17. What drew me to it was seeing the runners in cross country and how much joy they had for the sport and the team aspect of it.”
While Borkowski has had a successful running career, it hasn’t always been an easy path as she’s had to deal with some adversity along the way.
“As a freshman, I came here [Dordt] and college adjustment is big for everyone especially in the middle of a pandemic, it was also a little stressful,” Borkowski said. “I think I signed in June, so I joined a little late. I was able to make so many strong relationships with the ladies on the team.”
Borkowski is set to graduate at the end of the school year. She plans to continue to run, but will miss her teammates and the memories they’ve created together.
“I know I’ll miss it quite a bit,” Borkowski added. “As it starts winding down, I don’t want to take anything for granted. I’ll probably sign up for some fun runs in town. I hope to continue to train, and maybe run some marathons and half marathons and see what comes my way, but I just know that the impact that this program has had on me has ultimately changed me for the better, and I wouldn’t have it any other way that’s for sure.”