New Trier Athlete to Watch: Anna Berglund

Anna Berglund can live with the small hole in her racing spikes.

Those spikes, which she has worn in every race since her freshman year, have been as good to her as she has been for the New Trier girls’ cross country team.

She plans to wear them for the entire 2011 season -- her senior season -- when she and the Trevians plan to accomplish what has never been done in the school's history.

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“They’ve gotten me this far and racing spikes don’t really wear down so you can keep wearing them,” Berglund said.

Running on the varsity team since her freshman year, Berglund helped spark the most successful girls’ cross country run in New Trier's history, highlighted by the Trevians’ sixth-place finish in last year’s state meet. It was the team's best finish ever.

In fact, Berglund, the Trevians' sixth runner at the state meet, was the reason New Trier got that sixth-place finish. In elite meets such as regionals, sectionals or the state meet, only seven runners compete. Of the seven runner, the top five score.

However, New Trier tied Glenbrook North in the state meet. The tiebreaker is determined by the sixth runners on each team. Berglund beat her Spartans counterpart.

Berglund has been named all-conference in each of the previous three seasons and aims to achieve that distinction for a fourth straight season.

But the likelihood of four all-conference selections doesn’t lie in a runner’s talent. Instead it’s her consistency.

Berglund committed herself to training and avoided injurty during her entire cross country career. She’s been able to run every meet while maintaining a high level of training.

“That’s a big honor,” the incoming senior said. “Most people are stricken with injuries or something and aren’t able to do that, but we’ve only had a couple in the school. I’ve been fortunate enough to avoid injury and have that opportunity.”

Berglund’s focus, though, is on the team.

The Trevians didn’t graduate anyone from last season’s top seven. So, they are hoping to be in the conversation for a state title.

Berglund and head coach John Burnside know there will be people talking about the possibility of a state championship to close out the season, but they are trying to avoid putting too much focus on it.

“The goal is to be in the mix, there’s no doubt,” Burnside said. “[I want] to be in the discussion because when you get to that level—that top two or three teams—anything can happen."

While Berglund isn’t the most talented, she is as important as any runner on the team.

In addition to her three years of varsity experience, Berglund is a two-time state medalist in the 4x800-meter relay. Also, having competed in three state tournaments should help her compose the team when the Trevians run in the high-pressure meets.

“She is a very quiet, dedicated leader,” Burnside said. “She leads by example and she really brings out the best in her team because Anna isn’t a machine. She has good days, she has bad days. She has good races, she has bad races. But she’s always there as a really positive part of the team because her expectations are so high that they all have to feed off that.”

The Trevians hope to do so all the way to a state title.