Oct. 20—Editor's note: This story focuses on the Bemidji High School girls cross country runners. A
boys-focused story ran on Oct. 8
and was in the Oct. 10 print edition of the Pioneer.
BEMIDJI — Chloe Derby looked like a lock to garner state qualifications all throughout high school.
Two years ago, as a freshman on the Bemidji High School girls cross country team, Derby took seventh place individually to earn
her first trip to the Class 3A state meet.
As a sophomore, she finished 27th at sections. While it was on a different course, she ran nearly two minutes slower than she did when she was in ninth grade.
What happened?
"In the beginning of the season, I was dealing with my knee," Derby said. "Later on, after our Perham race, which is one of the last meets, I struggled with lower back and hip pain. It was really hard. I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well, but it's hard when you have an injury. Then I tried to push through it more, which definitely didn't help. It was a hard mental season."
Derby's nagging injuries in her knee, lower back and hip persisted throughout the school year. But those who ventured to Greenwood Golf Course on Tuesday afternoon for the Central Lakes Conference Championships wouldn't have had the slightest clue she was recently on the mend.
Derby took third place individually with a time of 19:34.7. She paced the Bemidji girls to a fifth-place team finish with 124 points in their first CLC meet in program history.
"It feels pretty good," Derby said. "I was up one spot from where I was ranked, so that's always nice. Running with all of these girls, it's crazy competition. I'm really happy with that placement. Having people around me really helps, because it's hard to keep that pace on your own."
Derby trailed only St. Cloud Apollo's Zili Lenzner (19:04.5) and Fergus Falls' Carsyn Lill (19:30.8).
"It's been a good season so far, a big improvement from last year after I was injured," Derby said. "I didn't have a great season last year. It's been fun having a younger team, too, being a good mentor for them and getting to run with them. I get to show them how things work."
Derby's return to form has been a long time coming, but she said she hasn't felt pain while she runs since the 2026 track and field season. She said she "feels so grateful to feel good again" after her sophomore year of struggles and is eager to make a push for a second state qualification.
"It motivates me so much," Derby said. "I'm really hoping for it and I'm excited to go for it. All I can do is run fast next week and hope it's good enough, but I'm really hoping for it. I have the mindset that I can come back from missing last year.
"I know I'm going to be nervous, but it's how I deal with that. I just have to remember that I'm not in control of anyone other than me."
One of the starker differences from her first qualification two seasons ago is the runners around her. No longer is Derby the freshman on a team full of seasoned runners. Now, she's the leader of the girls group, with some of them still cutting their teeth at the varsity level.
On Tuesday, Abigail Olson took 17th for Bemidji with a time of 20:31.6. Rylee Story placed 26th in 21:21.4, while Anna Olson finished 33rd (21:47.4). Ivy Blumenshein (22:46.0, 45th) and Layney Anderson (23:39.8, 54th) also competed for the Lumberjacks.
"I'm not always trying to run for myself anymore," Derby said. "It's not all about me. I have a team of girls behind me, and they push me through the race because I know they're there. For me, it comes down to trying to be that good example for them."
Derby will take her new perspective into the Section 8-3A Championships next Thursday, Oct. 29, in Moorhead.
"It's definitely going to take the whole team," Derby said. "I can't just go out there knowing that I might have a better chance of going to state than others. There's more on the line than that. These girls are trying to run their best times this season and represent Bemidji well at sections. It's going to take a hard meet from all of us to have a good meet, but we all know we're running together."
The Bemidji High School boys cross country team took fifth place with a score of 103, trailing only Brainerd (49 points) and Alexandria (65).
Will Ames led the Jacks with a 13th-place time of 17:03.6. Deven Bentler (17:19.9) and Paul Hodapp (17:27.6) finished back-to-back with home-stretch sprints, taking 19th and 20th, respectively.
Blake DeWitt ran to 23rd place with a time of 17:36.2. Kyle Millar wasn't far behind, finishing 28th in 17:57.4. Zaden Graf (18:06.5, 31st), Finnegan Fairchild (19:00.0, 57th) and Jack Galloway (19:08.8, 61st) rounded out the day for BHS.
Boys Team Scores
1-Brainerd 49; 2-Alexandria 65; 3-Bemidji 103; 4-St. Cloud Tech 112; 5-Willmar 114; 6-Sartell 148; 7-Detroit Lakes 163; 8-Fergus Falls 170; 9-Rocori 206; 10-St. Cloud Apollo 307; 11-Sauk Rapids-Rice 324.
Girls Team Scores
1-Rocori 64; 2-Alexandria 92; 3-Fergus Falls 104; 4-Sartell 109; 5-Brainerd 124; 6-Willmar 129; 7-Brainerd 132; 8-Sauk Rapids-Rice 226; 9-St. Cloud Apollo 250; 10-St. Cloud Tech 262; 11-295.