Ankeny senior Paige Beason is used to running long distances.
Now, she’ll be attending a college that is nearly 300 miles away from home.
Beason has verbally committed to join the St. Cloud State women’s track and cross programs next year.
“The only thing that made making my decision difficult was being far away from my family, especially my sister (Drew),” said Beason. “But the pros outweighed the cons, and I decided it was time to commit after state cross country.”
Beason helped the Hawkettes to a seventh-place finish in the Class 4A state meet last month at Fort Dodge. She placed 38th in the 5k race with a time of 19 minutes 56 seconds.
Beason found everything she was looking for in the Division II school that primarily competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
“I loved St. Cloud and everything about it when I visited a few months ago,” Beason said. “I especially loved the size of the school and the town compared to the other schools I visited. The coach and the girls on the team were super nice, and I could see myself fitting in with them. They also have a really good accounting program which was perfect.”
Former Ankeny teammate Shelby Romig is a sophomore hurdler and long jumper on the Huskies’ track squad.