By Cristy Brusoe
UWRF Sports Information

Leah Korf led the Falcon cross country team and recorded the 14th fastest 5,000-meter time in school history after clocking 19:45 at the Luther Invitational in September kicking off what has proved to be a great season to date.

Korf, who is a senior and co-captain on the UW-River Falls cross country team, grew up in Oakdale, Minn., with two older sisters, one brother and two very supportive parents. “I have the best parents in the world, Kathy and Paul, who come to almost every cross country or track meet even if it’s an eight hour drive,” Korf said.

Korf joined the cross country team in nine grade at Tartan High School. However, her reason for joining wasn’t for the joy of running.

“I joined cross country to stay in shape for basketball; it’s embarrassing because I am awful at basketball. I came from a small school [and] I decided to join to meet people,” she explained.

The first year being on the team was a challenge, but eventually the running became a way of life for Korf. “Once I started cross country, my freshman year was very much a building season. I never ran before and was very out of shape, not to mention not very strong. It was pretty rough, but after [that year] I liked it [and] I decided to join track. Eventually I quit all my other sports (basketball and dance) so I could put more focus on running.”

As a senior in high school, Korf felt she wasn’t progressing as a runner and questioned if she would continue her career at the college she had chosen (UWRF).

“It was actually my eight grade cousin, Tara Korf, who convinced me to run in college. Now, I thank her very much!” Korf said.

Korf has found that the cross country team at UWRF brings the joy of friendship and competition.

“I really love the atmosphere, everything about it. I love running itself, it’s very freeing. The team is awesome; it is an instant group of friends. I love competition, I am a very competitive person and I like how it is a dual sport, I compete for myself as well as the team,” she said.

Korf’s college career has been influenced by nagging injuries each season, but she still hopes to attain personal goals. “My best time for cross country is a 23:36, which is from my freshman year. All I really want to do is break that time. As a team I think we can really place well in conference. I am really excited for the team this year, we have a very talented hard-working group of people,” Korf said.

Co-Head Coach Scott Sekelsky or “Skelly” as the women n the cross country team call him, has had an impact and brought the best out of Korf as a runner. “I think Skelly does a very good job connecting with everyone on the team and making work outs. He also runs with us and has brought a lot of originality to the team, while sustaining the previous traditions. I thank, respect and appreciate Skelly for all he has done as a person and a coach.”

Sekelsky believes Korf’s leadership and ability to teach others around her will carry on in her profession. “She demonstrates incredible leadership that I am sure she will bring to the class room with her as a teacher, to practice every day. She teaches her teammates on a continuous basis what it means to be dedicated to something and to see things through no matter what the circumstances. To say her presence will be missed on this team next year is an understatement of galactic proportion,” Sekelsky said.