Reagan Johnson / Winonan

Winona State University junior track and field athlete Megan Seidl has had a successful season both on the track and in the classroom.

Seidl qualified for the Division II Indoor National Championship this March in both the 200 and 400-meter races. Seidl entered the championship with the 22nd best time of 24.57 seconds in Division II in the 200-meter and the 13th best time in the 400-meter with 55.13.

Seidl finished in 12th place at the championship with a time of 55.41, which is the second-fasted time in Winona State history.

“I am pretty happy with how I did at nationals,” Seidl said. “Knowing it was my first individual nationals and I had a lifetime PR there, I couldn’t be disappointed even though I didn’t make it to finals.”

Seidl also earned All-American honors at the meet for the second straight indoor season. Based off her 400-meter performance she received second team recognition.

“It’s amazing to be an All-American. My sophomore year I made All-American with my 4×4 relay team, so it felt amazing to have done it on my own. It is a great feeling, but I am naturally a competitive person, so I am really hoping that before I leave Winona I can make it on the award stand and become first-team All-American individually,” Seidl said.

In addition to her All-American honors, Seidl was named to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference’s All-Academic team along with 31 of her fellow teammates. In order to qualify for this honor, a student athlete must at least sophomore athletic and academic standing and have a minimum cumulative 3.20 GPA.

Seidl said she has grown a lot over the past three years.

“I think that as time passed, I become more and more confident and willing to take risks in my races. A lot of people think there isn’t a strategy to running, but you can piece apart your whole race. I’ve come to feel so empowered by running, and I know, now that I am older, that I can push myself more than I thought I was able to,” Seidl said.

Seidl is currently ranked first in both the 200 and 400-meter races for the NSIC. The NSIC conference meet will take place on May 13th and 14th in Sioux Falls, S.D.

“It makes me self-conscious to be ranked that high in our conference. Seeing that makes me feel that I need to live up to that expectation, but it also is a push to do my best for my team,” Seidl said.

Seidl said her biggest goal for the remainder of the outdoor season is to hit a sub-55 second 400-meter time.

“In the 200, I am really just focusing on trying to nail down my mechanics for getting out of the starting blocks to try to shave time off as much as I can,” Seidl said.

Seidl said she loves running for Winona State, and her team has made a huge impact on her success.

“There are a lot of instances that they are more confident in me than I am in myself, so that atmosphere is amazing,” Seidl said. “Even if you do not do as well as you wished, there are dozens of people that cheer you on.”