Erika Odlaug (1st, Midwest)

Hometown: Bannockburn, IL
High School: Deerfield High School
Year of Graduation: 2002

Like any good competitor, Erika Odlaug does not like to lose. So when she finished 4th at the Illinois State Meet and 10th at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional in 2000, she vowed that things would be different in 2001. She gave up soccer and basketball to focus on running, and trained like she had never trained before. Her hard work started to pay off last spring as she obliterated all of her personal bests and ran a PR of 10:11.31 to win the prestigious Golden West 3,200m in June. In doing so, she also defeated her in-state rival Maria Cicero for the first time (Cicero is now running for Boston College and recently finished 16th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships).

This fall has been equally, if not more, impressive. Odlaug has been as much as minutes ahead of her competition and has broken the course record on nearly every course she's run. She avenged last year's state meet loss in style -- winning by 45 seconds and, of course, setting a new course record. Her smallest margin of victory came at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional November 24, where she still won by 19 seconds.

Other Notes:
...Odlaug was a standout soccer player before giving it up for running. She traveled to Europe in the summer of 1999 with Stars & Stripes, an Under-19 club to compete in two tournaments. Odlaug claims she learned toughness from playing soccer with her older brothers, Tommy and Andrew... In her spare time, Odlaug enjoys painting... Leading up to the Midwest Regional, Odlaug had her father drive her to Kenosha, WI four times so that she could practice on the race course and leave nothing to chance... Odlaug will attend the University of Colorado on a full scholarship next fall.

Nicole Bohnsack (left) and Erika Odlaug run together at the 2001 Foot Locker Midwest Regional. (Photo by PhotoRun, click to enlarge)

In the News:
A Brief Chat with Erika Odlaug (12/3/01)
Catch her...if you can (12/2/01)
Odlaug leaves regional race fulfilled (11/24/01)
In the spotlight (11/15/2001)
Odlaug shines brightly in winning state XC title (11/8/01)
Pretty day; pretty good races, too (11/4/01)
Deerfield senior gets record, title in a walk (11/4/01)
Odlaug all by herself (11/3/01)
Odlaug is right on course (11/1/01)
Odlaug has things timed -- perfectly (10/25/01)
Odlaug untested at conference meet (10/18/01)
Odlaug 'embarrassingly' good (10/11/01)
Odlaug sets record at Peoria's Detweiller Park (9/20/01)
Odlaug will star for Warriors (9/6/01)
More records tumble in State Street Mile (8/12/01)
It's full speed ahead for this Deerfield High School sensation (7/12/01)
Odlaug 'Rises to prominence' (6/21/01)
DyeStat photo gallery of Odlaug's breakthrough 3,200m at Golden West
Odlaug runs her best at state (5/24/01)
Odlaug claims two sectional crowns (5/17/01)
Odlaug continues to dominate (5/3/01)
Odlaug finishes 10th at Foot Locker regional (11/28/00)
Odlaug places fourth at state meet (11/9/00)
Beating King at state meet clearly on Odlaug's mind (11/2/00)
Odlaug gives King a real battle (10/26/00)
Odlaug a runaway winner at CSL North meet (10/19/00)
Odlaug an easy winner at Lake County Invite (10/12/00)
Odlaug second in regional race (10/28/99)
Course knowledge a key for Odlaug (10/14/99)
Odlaug turns in elite (soccer) showing in Europe (8/5/99)