Rising To The Next Level

Glasgow High School senior Ali Cunningham has had quite a unique senior year. At the beginning of the school year she balanced practices and meets as a cross country runner in addition to cheer practices and cheering at football games as a Scottie cheerleader. She continued cheering during the winter sports season for basketball and then started to prepare for the track and field spring season before COVID-19 caused the cancellation of all spring sports. While balancing being involved in sports, Cunningham continued to excel in her school work and other organizations such as Student Council, Key Club and being class president.

Her hard work has paid off as she recently signed to run on the Dickinson State University, in Dickinson, N.D., cross country and track and field teams next fall. Settling on Dickinson wasn't an easy choice, as she received offers from many colleges, however the two she took most seriously were the offers provided by Carroll College and Dickinson State.

"I went on a recruitment visit last fall to both colleges and it just clicked at Dickinson. The team, the coach, the raw atmosphere. I found a team like what I have had at Glasgow," Cunningham explained. Another benefit is former teammate, Emily Kolstad, who graduated in 2019 from GHS, also runs for Dickinson State. "It will be fun to have her as a teammate again!," exclaimed Cunningham. She also credits the closeness to home as another factor for having Dickinson come out ahead.

Cunningham has ran for the Scotties in both cross country and track and field all four years of her high school career, minus track and field this year. She made state appearances all four years in cross country and all three years in track and field. She is undoubtedly disappointed at the abrupt cancellation of this season as she had unfinished business to take care of this year.

"I wanted to place at track this year during a qualifier. I only had eight seconds to cut from my personal best from last year," she explained. Last year, she placed 14th with a time of 5:47.03 in the 1600 meters, and 10th with a time of 12:36.29 in the 3200 meters, both during the State meet. Both times were personal records for her.

She ended her cross country season last fall with a 16th place state finish in the 5000 meters at State with a time of 21:09.0, just one place away from achieving All-State. A month earlier at the Poplar Invitational on Sept. 21 she achieved a personal record of 20:37.4.

Cunningham has been running in track since middle school and started cross country upon entering high school. She admits she is drawn to the individualization of cross country and track after playing team sports in junior high in Nashua. "In individual sports you are doing the best you can do. You can only fault yourself," she stated. Running is also in her blood, as her father, David, also ran track. "It's pretty cool to be able to share this with him," she explained.

While finishing her senior year online due to the closure of school for the rest of the year, she continues to stay active and run everyday. "In a few weeks I will start my college training and officially start with the team on Aug. 20," Cunningham stated. She will be joining the rest of her senior class on May 24 for graduation, graduating with an honors diploma. She will pursue a degree in exercise science at Dickinson State and then will pursue occupational therapy after obtaining her four-year degree.