Lauren Bissen has been with the Glacier cross country team for four seasons and if it seems longer, it's probably because she has finished in the top three at a Montana high school meet 24 times.
Outwardly, she hasn't changed much. She entered the stage as a blonde, slight, bespectacled freshman who ran beyond her strides; about the only difference now is all the colleges that lined up to give her a scholarship.
But inside. ...
"She showed up with a lot more confidence than in year's past," Glacier Wolfpack coach Cody Moore said. "She's always been confident, but this year it has kind of bleached into everything else. We have a really young team, and I think her legacy will be finished by those younger girls. She definitely left her mark."
Both the Glacier boys and girls are projected to finish in the top three at Saturday's State AA Cross Country Championship, run in concert with the other three classes at Amend Park in Billings. That's a high-water mark in Moore's seven years leading the program; the girls finished fourth the last two seasons, and the boys were fifth in 2025.
"I think that's really exciting," Bissen said. "We have a really strong group this year — and young, too, which is also exciting. It's been fun to see the progress.
"I'm really proud of the group this year. We're really close and it's so fun to hang out with and work hard with them. I'm lucky to be on the team that I'm on."
Moore feels fortunate as well. He hadn't been on the job long when Bissen arrived, starting an upward trend for a squad that finished ninth out of 16 teams at state in 2022. With Bissen taking second as a freshman, the Pack jumped to fifth the next October.
"She showed up as a freshman and has been remarkably consistent since," Moore said. "She's just so studious and curious about getting better. She always asked about the why behind what we're doing and it's all due to her being curious about getting better."
Here's a curious fact: Bissen was running the fastest times of anyone not named Addison Kegel for most of last season, but someone was closing the gap. It was teammate Ada Thiel, who surged at the end to win last year's State AA title as a freshman.
"It was a surprise to everyone," Moore said. "And it speaks to Lauren's character. Obviously there were those initial 20 seconds of disappointment, but then she was hugging her and they were holding hands on the awards stand.
"You don't want to lose a race, but if you do you'd want it to be to your best friend and training partner."
"She ran a great race," Bissen said. "It was a really strong race. I was also surprised — I hadn't expected her to come from behind. But in the end, that's racing. And then it was, 'OK. Now let's think about the next race.' "
The next race was the Nike Cross Country Northwest Regionals: She finished in 17 minutes, 39.8 seconds, a career best.
"Last year to break 18 minutes was a big deal for her, and she's been consistently under that this season," Moore said.
Colleges came calling, and last week Bissen committed to Boise State. She has a goal of medical school; in the immediate future she'd like to see the Pack bring home some hardware. She and Thiel make a dynamic 1-2 punch; Bissen wants to chase down a great finish to a high school career full of them.
"I'd set some big goals for this season: Devote more energy and focus and be real intentional — a better teammate, better person and be a better competitor," she said. "It's still a work in progress; the season isn't over yet.
"But yeah, I have been intentional and working hard. And yes, it has been a great season."
Sports Editor Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 406-758-4463 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.