Adel-DeSoto-Minburn Freshman Elliotte Von Roden expresses her gratitude towards her teammates and family ahead of the State Cross Country Meet on Friday.

Von Roden qualified to the state meet in Fort Dodge following a 15th place finish in Harlan with a time of 20:36 in the 5K. She tells Raccoon Valley Radio that although she is happy she advanced to state, she was sadden that her teammates aren’t joining her on the course. Despite that, Von Roden is grateful that the other girls have given her much encouragement.

“They still care and they are like very happy for me. I was a little nervous at first, but at the same time like through and through again, they’re just very supportive, and I love that about my team. Like there are people that even though they’re kind of upset that they didn’t go, they’re very happy for me that I get to go, and I get to experience it in my freshmen year. And I know that if they were in my shoes, like they’d want people to do the same. I’m so grateful for my team and how they’re so positive towards it.”

Von Roden also is appreciative by the amount of love shown by her family.

“My mom and my dad, and even like my brother, they’ve just been like huge fans. Like I love when I’m running, I’ll see my brother on top of the hill and he’s just like cheering me on, and also like my dad, he can be very tough on me, but he just knows that I can go so much harder, and also my mom, she’s just like always there. She always sends me texts messages, leaving notes in my bag, (and) this whole cross country season, (she’ll) make me breakfast. Like she’ll get up so early, and I’m like ‘you did not have to do this’ but she’s like ‘I just love you so much, just want to do it, like have the best day ever,’ so I’m just so grateful for my family that they’re able to stick through with me through this whole season.”

Von Roden has led ADM in many races during the 2024 season. She’ll be running at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge Friday morning at 10:30am.