Junior cross country runner Becca Jordahl was a soccer player before she transferred to UW-River Falls last fall. But as chance would have it, she simply clicked the "more information" box about cross country and 13 months later she's an All American runner who just won the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational.

"I didn't know anything about running, I just happened to check the box and Coach (Don) Glover just kind of pulled me in from there," said Jordahl. "I almost wasn't going to go to camp at the end of August last year because I didn't know anybody there or anything about cross county, but I did really well so I was happy I went."

Jordahl was born in St. Paul, Minn., but when she was young her dad got a new job that led her, and her two sisters and mother, to Pocatello, Idaho, a city of about 40,000 people. She spent all of her high school career in Pocatello and for her first year of college she attended Walla Walla Community College in Washington State about seven hours from Pocatello. She was a soccer player all through high school and at Walla Walla, but figured soccer would be difficult to get into at UWRF.

"I expected soccer to be more exclusive," Jordahl said. "I kind of figured like they already had their set of recruits."

Her family moved back to the Twin Cities in the summer of 2004 and Jordahl went to Century College to get her AA degree. In the fall of 2006 Jordahl transferred to UWRF and joined the Falcons.

On Sept. 9, 2006 Jordahl ran her first ever cross country race, and finished first for RF and fourth overall.

"I had never raced before so I was super nervous," Jordahl said. "I remember thinking during the race, 'why am I here, why am I doing this, I don't have to be here, I should just stop'. But I can't let myself just stop and when I finished I was relieved. I felt good and I felt like I could go faster."

She didn't race in the next race, but the following week she ran in Griak Invitational and, although she didn't run faster than her first race, she still finished first for RF and 12 overall out of more than 500 runners.

"That was great because I actually woke up the morning of the Griak and didn't know whether I was going to run or not," Jordahl said.

All in all Jordahl had a great season that ultimately ended with her receiving All American honors, finishing 19 overall in the 2006 NCAA Div. III National Meet. She also ran the second fastest time (22:01) in Falcon cross country history for a 6,000-meter race.

If 2006 was great for Jordahl then 2007 has been amazing. She has competed in two races so far this year and won both of the races, running the third and fifth fastest times in Falcon history.

"She's really easy to coach because she's got a combination of being really mentally strong," said Falcon Coach Scott Sekelsky. "And the sky is the limit, I don't think she's even tapped her potential yet."

She started the season by winning the St. Olaf Invitational on Sept. 15, and then on Sept. 29 she won the Invitational in a field of more than 600 runners.

"I felt really good, I felt really strong," Jordahl said. "I didn't plan on taking the lead as early as I did. Winning Griak has always been a goal, or really a dream, of mine. Last year it was a long shot, so it was amazing."

Jordahl found out Tuesday that she still has one year of college eligibility left for cross country so she plans on putting off graduation until after next year, although she could graduate after this year. She will graduate with a degree in health and human performance.

"I have no idea what I want to be," Jordahl said. "Ideally I would like to get paid to run."

Getting paid to run is still quite a way off, and she has many goals left to accomplish before she hangs up her college running shoes.

"Winning Griak was my first goal," Jordahl said. "So now I plan on beating the school record, winning conference, placing in the top 5-10 regionally and going to nationals again."

She will get her first crack to break the school record this Saturday, Oct. 13, at the La Crosse Tori Neubauer Invitational.

"I'm confident about the race, I'll have to see who's there, Jordahl said. "But I'm not really intimidated about any of the competitors."

There will be 28 teams competing in the race Saturday including six of the top-23 NCAA Div. III teams.

The former soccer player turned star runner has to be one of the favorites to win the race along with any race she competes in. It has been an interesting 13 months for Jordahl, going from never having ran a race to winning one of the largest cross country meets in the country. And, with Jordahl having another year of eligibility, it appears as though her cross country career is far from over.