Wiese honored to become Flandreaus first XC champion

FLANDREAU When Faith Wiese crossed the finish line during Saturdays SDHSAA State Cross Country Meet, she didnt just achieve a personal goal. She also achieved something she didnt expect, becoming Flandreaus first cross country champion.
Wiese won the Class A girls race with a time of 18:27.59 on Saturday, beating out Sioux Falls Christians Ellie Maddox (18:40.31) by nearly 13 seconds. The accomplishment was a big one for Wiese, who won her eighth race of the season but also was a crowning achievement for someone who has run since third grade.
Its hard to find the words to describe it, Wiese said of her victory. It was surreal. But looking back at it, just after I crossed the finish line, I was just overwhelmed with emotion. It was so cool to have everyone congratulating me and the other competitors.
Wiese was introduced to running by the Girls on the Run program, a nonprofit organization that offers programs for girls in grades 3-8 to help them develop social, emotional and physical skills.
While Wiese loved the adrenaline rush she got from running, her mother Kathryn, who was a former track athlete at Flandreau, reminded her to run for other reasons than just trying to win the race.
Shes always told me theres a bigger picture behind it, Faith said. Its not always about winning. At the end of the day, the gifts we have are not from us, theyre from God. And she just told me to not make running the biggest thing in my life.
With her motives centered, Faith was literally off and running. She finished second at the Class A meet as a seventh grader in 2020 and finished 12th as an eighth grader the following year.
After finishing in sixth place as a freshman and second place as a sophomore, Wiese established herself as one of the top runners in the state but she also wanted to win the one race that had alluded her.
It was definitely a goal in the back of my mind every season but it was tough, Wiese said of winning the state meet. As years go on, you have a lot of pressure on yourself and I think theres a lot of outside forces that put pressure on you, too. But it definitely fueled me. A lot of people when they have success early, its kind of hard for them to come back the next year but it was really cool because I continued to have success.
Wiese made her case with a standout junior season, beginning with a win at the McCook Central Meet on Sept. 3 and then setting a season-best time of 18:03.9 at the highly competitive Augustana Twilight Meet in Sioux Falls.
As the meet drew closer, Wiese began to believe she had a chance of achieving her ultimate goal, as Class A was flooded with talent, but also had a wide-open field.
Wiese also had a support system near not only her mother but from her sister Calla, who joined the varsity team as a seventh grader this season.
It means the world and Im so grateful that God put my family and people that He did in my life, Faith said of her sister and mother. Theyre my No. 1 fans and Im so glad I have the opportunity to run with my sister for a couple of years. I couldnt have accomplished anything I have without my family, who I often take for granted.
It all paved the way for Wiese to win the Class A meet in her junior year. Wiese still has more goals for her high school career including winning at the state track meet this spring and has considered running collegiately.
But Wiese acknowledges how big of an accomplishment she had on Saturday, not only for herself but for the Flandreau community.
It just shows that even with a small schoolwe can do big things, Wiese said. You dont have to be from a huge school to achieve big goals and it shows that we are hard workers, too.