Ladia Albertson-Junkans may be one of the most non-competitive, competitive people I’ve ever met. Sounds a bit crazy, doesn’t it? After all, how can the same person adhere to two completely opposite characteristics? How can you define yourself as competitive, yet be so unselfish in wanting others to succeed at perhaps a level higher than your own?

Those questions may have answers but they are truly of no importance. We can simply call it the 180 degrees of Ladia. Forget looking for a deeper meaning as well, simply accept the competitive, non-competitive nature of this Golden Gopher sophomore harrier as what makes her an absolutely outstanding teammate, as well as, an a energetic, dynamic young woman.

Ask her how she got into running and after some deliberation, Ladia will let her competitive side come out.

“In junior high I thought running was really fun because I beat everyone by a lot and it gave me a sense of pride of being good at something,” admits Albertson-Junkans. “My identity then became associated with running. From then on I was seen as Ladia the runner.”

Follow up by asking her about how she sees herself now as a runner and a member of the Minnesota women’s cross country team and the answer takes that surprising swerve in the opposite direction.

“I think I help others well. I try not to push in a competitive or negative fashion but in a more positive manner,” said Albertson-Junkans. “I don’t want to have a practice about beating someone else. I try my best to help get the best out of others while maintaining a good sense of camaraderie and love for each other.”

The mix of competitive and non-competitive really comes out when you discuss the Gophers’ team makeup, which finds Ladia as part of a talented trio with Emily Brown and Lauren Williams that have shared the number-one position in the scoring lineup throughout the season.

“I’m definitely a very competitive runner but for some reason and I thought being honest with myself that I would be competitive in wanting to be the number-one runner on the team because that’s a great honor and there’s a huge stigma of being number one,” says Albertson-Junkans. “However, the fact that Lauren, Emily and I are so interchangeable and so close all the time and that we are always working off each other making it uncertain who is going to be the first runner, have prevented any type of anxieties about that. We want the three of us be competitive with other teams so we as a team can be as successful as possible.”

“That’s pretty evident throughout the team,” she continues. “There aren’t any animosities about what place you finish on the team and I think that is attributing to our success. We all realize we have to work together and have a good day. If everyone is having a good day it’s not concrete who is going to be number one, or number four for that matter.”

Stop at the axis, the middle point if you will, and you will see Ladia as the ideal teammate. In her eyes, there certainly isn’t an “I” in team. She is one of those special personalities that bring teams together.

“Everybody loves Ladia,” says Golden Gopher head coach Gary Wilson. “She has such a positive energy pouring out of her that you can’t help but be swept up by it.”

Even with high praise Ladia defers the attention from herself and on to others.

“I see it as a duty as a person in life. I don’t think it’s just me. I work off of people like Annie Yetzer and Harper McConnell who have charismatic personalities and are beautiful people. Everyone on the team in their own light is beautiful and I like to bring that out in other people. The easiest way to do that is to be happy yourself and promote a good attitude. I try to live by that.”

Come to the meet on Sunday and you will see more than a team that enjoys competition, but a Golden Gopher squad that truly enjoys each other. Team chemistry as such is a process and each year a class added their own mark on a program. In just their second season, Ladia and her sophomore teammates have thrived and are having the time of their lives as Golden Gophers.

“Last year we had great success with team bonding,” explains Albertson-Junkans. “We came together really well and fluently and that was partly because of the upper class and partly because of the freshmen class. We know what we did as freshmen to make this transition easier a year ago. The freshmen class is a lot like we were last year. I don’t know if that’s just luck or Wilson’s incredible talent for recruiting people that produces a certain kind of team effect.”

“It’s amazing being on a team like this,” she adds. Everyone knows what they need to do to make the team flourish and they have executed their roles to make this flow and work really well together.”

The Gophers have experienced their share of success thus far in the 2005 season. Minnesota used its second-place showing to jump up to No. 11 in the national poll and even spent one week at No. 10, marking the second-highest ranking in school history. Brown and Williams both were recognized as Big Ten Runners of the Week this season. Brown and Albertson-Junkans both bettered the school 6-kilometer record at the Pre-NCAA meet. Still, don’t ever think this group of Gophers is satisfied.

“Obviously nationals is the goal for most teams and it is a huge goal of ours as well,” said Albertson-Junkans. “We want to go to nationals and run well and solidify ourselves as nationally competitive.”

“However, having the Big Ten Championships on our own turf has this innate sense of pride tugging on us and motivating us to focus on this race. We want help give our state and our school something to be proud of. This is our chance to not only perform well, but to do that in front of spectators witnessing us do something amazing. We’ve had such a magical sense in the season so far that we hope this carries through to the Big Ten. One of our goals is to win the Big Ten meet. What makes this year special is that it is a realistic goal. Hopefully we will have a lot of Minnesotans out there cheering for us.”

Albertson-Junkans readily admits that she hasn’t been nervous for a race this season but will likely feel the butterflies as the gun is raised to begin the Big Ten race. It seems a safe bet that with those butterflies, Ladia’s competitive nature will win out and she’ll chase down plenty of her goals, both for herself and her Golden Gophers.

Written by Becky Bohm, Athletic Communications Ladia Albertson-Junkans may be one of the most non-competitive, competitive people I’ve ever met. Sounds a bit crazy, doesn’t it? After all, how can the same person adhere to two completely opposite characteristics? How can you define yourself as competitive, yet be so unselfish in wanting others to succeed at perhaps a level higher than your own?

Those questions may have answers but they are truly of no importance. We can simply call it the 180 degrees of Ladia. Forget looking for a deeper meaning as well, simply accept the competitive, non-competitive nature of this Golden Gopher sophomore harrier as what makes her an absolutely outstanding teammate, as well as, an a energetic, dynamic young woman.

Ask her how she got into running and after some deliberation, Ladia will let her competitive side come out.

“In junior high I thought running was really fun because I beat everyone by a lot and it gave me a sense of pride of being good at something,” admits Albertson-Junkans. “My identity then became associated with running. From then on I was seen as Ladia the runner.”

Follow up by asking her about how she sees herself now as a runner and a member of the Minnesota women’s cross country team and the answer takes that surprising swerve in the opposite direction.

“I think I help others well. I try not to push in a competitive or negative fashion but in a more positive manner,” said Albertson-Junkans. “I don’t want to have a practice about beating someone else. I try my best to help get the best out of others while maintaining a good sense of camaraderie and love for each other.”

The mix of competitive and non-competitive really comes out when you discuss the Gophers’ team makeup, which finds Ladia as part of a talented trio with Emily Brown and Lauren Williams that have shared the number-one position in the scoring lineup throughout the season.

“I’m definitely a very competitive runner but for some reason and I thought being honest with myself that I would be competitive in wanting to be the number-one runner on the team because that’s a great honor and there’s a huge stigma of being number one,” says Albertson-Junkans. “However, the fact that Lauren, Emily and I are so interchangeable and so close all the time and that we are always working off each other making it uncertain who is going to be the first runner, have prevented any type of anxieties about that. We want the three of us be competitive with other teams so we as a team can be as successful as possible.”

“That’s pretty evident throughout the team,” she continues. “There aren’t any animosities about what place you finish on the team and I think that is attributing to our success. We all realize we have to work together and have a good day. If everyone is having a good day it’s not concrete who is going to be number one, or number four for that matter.”

Stop at the axis, the middle point if you will, and you will see Ladia as the ideal teammate. In her eyes, there certainly isn’t an “I” in team. She is one of those special personalities that bring teams together.

“Everybody loves Ladia,” says Golden Gopher head coach Gary Wilson. “She has such a positive energy pouring out of her that you can’t help but be swept up by it.”

Even with high praise Ladia defers the attention from herself and on to others.

“I see it as a duty as a person in life. I don’t think it’s just me. I work off of people like Annie Yetzer and Harper McConnell who have charismatic personalities and are beautiful people. Everyone on the team in their own light is beautiful and I like to bring that out in other people. The easiest way to do that is to be happy yourself and promote a good attitude. I try to live by that.”

Come to the meet on Sunday and you will see more than a team that enjoys competition, but a Golden Gopher squad that truly enjoys each other. Team chemistry as such is a process and each year a class added their own mark on a program. In just their second season, Ladia and her sophomore teammates have thrived and are having the time of their lives as Golden Gophers.

“Last year we had great success with team bonding,” explains Albertson-Junkans. “We came together really well and fluently and that was partly because of the upper class and partly because of the freshmen class. We know what we did as freshmen to make this transition easier a year ago. The freshmen class is a lot like we were last year. I don’t know if that’s just luck or Wilson’s incredible talent for recruiting people that produces a certain kind of team effect.”

“It’s amazing being on a team like this,” she adds. Everyone knows what they need to do to make the team flourish and they have executed their roles to make this flow and work really well together.”

The Gophers have experienced their share of success thus far in the 2005 season. Minnesota used its second-place showing to jump up to No. 11 in the national poll and even spent one week at No. 10, marking the second-highest ranking in school history. Brown and Williams both were recognized as Big Ten Runners of the Week this season. Brown and Albertson-Junkans both bettered the school 6-kilometer record at the Pre-NCAA meet. Still, don’t ever think this group of Gophers is satisfied.

“Obviously nationals is the goal for most teams and it is a huge goal of ours as well,” said Albertson-Junkans. “We want to go to nationals and run well and solidify ourselves as nationally competitive.”

“However, having the Big Ten Championships on our own turf has this innate sense of pride tugging on us and motivating us to focus on this race. We want help give our state and our school something to be proud of. This is our chance to not only perform well, but to do that in front of spectators witnessing us do something amazing. We’ve had such a magical sense in the season so far that we hope this carries through to the Big Ten. One of our goals is to win the Big Ten meet. What makes this year special is that it is a realistic goal. Hopefully we will have a lot of Minnesotans out there cheering for us.”

Albertson-Junkans readily admits that she hasn’t been nervous for a race this season but will likely feel the butterflies as the gun is raised to begin the Big Ten race. It seems a safe bet that with those butterflies, Ladia’s competitive nature will win out and she’ll chase down plenty of her goals, both for herself and her Golden Gophers.

Written by Becky Bohm, Athletic Communications