Jamestown’s Meghan Ford made history during a historical season
JAMESTOWN, N.D. (BVM) — As Meghan Ford crossed the finish line 40 seconds ahead of the next runner to win the NDHSAA Class A girls cross country title, she hadn’t fully realized what she had just accomplished.
Becoming only the third female runner to win three straight cross country state titles in the history of North Dakota, the Jamestown High School senior was more focused on celebrating with her team and enjoying the last cross country race of her high school career.
It wasn’t until Monday when Ford was on a run that it really hit her that she had solidified her place amongst some of the best long distance runners to come out of North Dakota.
“I had a bit of a runners high when I was on my run because I was thinking about it,” Ford said.
The state title caps off a high school career that has featured back-to-back Gatorade North Dakota Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year awards, state titles in track and an All-American finish at last year’s Nike Cross Nationals.
“It’s kind of surreal,” Ford said.
After losing her junior track season last spring due to COVID-19, she was happy to be out competing in meets more than anything. That time spent just training in the spring with no meet to look forward to in the near future made the competitions this fall even better.
“I went into the season just trying to take every race as it comes and appreciate every single one of them,” Ford said. “I had no idea if my season was going to get cut short whether it was because they canceled all sports or I had to quarantine for two weeks.”
Pushing through the unknown and helping to lead her team, Ford and Jamestown focused on what they could control and got back to state. As a team, they improved on their 18th place finish last year and finished ninth this year.
Ford played a big role in helping her team improve. Although she normally runs with the boys team, Ford would constantly try to give her young teammates advice. It also added to the team chemistry that was even more important during a season in which the amount of time a team could spend together was limited.
Ford now moves onto new goals and will continue her senior year of high school before heading to Furman University. However, there are a few more cross country events she needs to do first.
Most of the national meets like Nike Cross Nationals and regional meets have been canceled, but there are still a few she can look forward to. In response to Nike Cross Nationals being canceled, there is a virtual event that Ford will be able to compete in as well as a national meet in Terre Haute, Ind.
After that, she plans to break records in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter race in track this spring. She will also be looking to win in the 800 meter before leaving Jamestown.
She will then be joining one of the best NCAA Division I programs in the country.
