Manawa senior gets track scholarship
By Holly Neumann
A Little Wolf High School senior is taking her running skills to the next level.
Aspen Linjer signed her National Letter of Intent March 3 to compete on the women’s track team at North Dakota State University.
“We are thrilled to welcome Aspen as the newest member of the Bison family,” said Reece Vega, North Dakota State’s sprints and hurdles coach who recruited her. “We targeted Aspen because we thought her personality would be a great fit on our team. We are excited to see what she is capable of.”
Linjer’s primary events will be the 100- and 200-meter dashes and relays.
She said she is excited about the opportunity.
“I’ll get to have a more competitive team and more opportunity to get even better,” she said. “I’ve got to keep my eyes on the prize and keep doing my best for my scholarship.”
She said ambition and competitiveness are the biggest assets she will bring to North Dakota State, located in Fargo.
“I can offer a lot of leadership skills to help everyone around me improve,” she said.
Linjer picked North Dakota State because she liked the atmosphere and what the track program had to offer.
“I was also impressed by their art program,” said Linjer, who plans on majoring in graphic design.
She has made appearances at the WIAA State Track Championships as a freshman and sophomore.
In 2019, she placed second in the girls’ Division 3 100-meter dash and sixth in the 200-meter dash and was a member of the 400-meter relay team that placed second. She also placed sixth in the 100 in 2018 as a freshman.
Linjer also joined Ireland Griffin, Mataya Moede and Laynie Bessette on the Wolves’ 400-meter relay team that currently holds the school record and she has ran for Team USA in Australia.
She thanked the community, school and classmates for supporting her through the years.
“I’d also like to thank Mark Dudziak for his support, loyalty and kind messages every step of the way,” Linjer said. “And a big final thank you to my family, Sell Chiropractic and Tina Bettin for keeping me physically and mentally healthy and expressing care for any injury big or small.”
Linjer is the daughter of Kurt Linjer and Melissa West.