The Tioga High School senior cross country runner relishes what other runners revile: the hills.
"It's my favorite sport," Lambrecht said. "In track, there's no hills, and that's my favorite part. It's a challenge, and once you get to the top you feel so much better. ...I think that's my best part of the race, some girls try to take it easy on them, but I try to power up through them."
Lambrecht is currently the ninth-ranked girls Class B cross country runner in the state in rankings released Wednesday night, and she may be poised to move up those rankings later in the season after an impressive second-place run of 11:44 in a 3,000-meter run at the Spring Lake Park Invitational on Saturday in Williston, a triangular meet featuring Williston, Watford City and Tioga-Trinity Christian.
She has been running cross country for five years now, beginning as an eighth-grader. Half a decade, three All-Region and two All-State selections later, she doesn't regret making the jump over from track. She got into the sport when Tioga coach Patty Skarphol saw her running track in junior high and sent her the invitation to join the team. Since then, Lambrecht has done nothing but impress Skarphol.
"She runs hard," Skarphol said.
The TTC team's season marches on through Dickinson on Saturday and then nine more meets before this season's state final in Valley City.
Last season, Lambrecht earned her second All-State nod with a 12th-place finish at the state meet in Jamestown. Her time of 16:15.04 placed her within a minute of the leaders and less than a second away from a top-10 finish, which has become her goal this season.
"I just have to work hard, and make sure I do my best at all the races," Lambrecht said.
A senior this season, Lambrecht isn't sure what her plans are post-high school, but she may stick with running in college
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