WATERTOWN – Whether pushing the pace in basketball or setting the pace in track and cross country, Halle Bauer has been a valuable member of the Great Plains Lutheran Panthers.

This senior’s journey began six years ago when she landed a spot on the GPL cross country squad as a seventh-grader. She qualified for state that year, then medaled the following year and has been out in front ever since.

“From her first day of practice, I could tell that she had the potential to be one of the best to come through our school,” said GPL track and field coach Derrick Ovall. “She was very shy, but would come to practice every day and put in the effort.”

Bauer said training for distance running was hard, but soon learned it was necessary.

“You need to do the training to make the racing fun,” Bauer said.

She became a member of the varsity basketball team as a freshman and recently capped a three-year run as a starter for the Panthers.

Bauer her sports complement each other.

“I think my distance running background has definitely helped me a lot in basketball, because I usually have to play the whole game. So, just being able to keep going for a whole game, being able to run for a long time helps me with that,” Bauer said. “Basketball is a lot more speed and changing directions and stuff, so that helps me develop a little bit of speed and just overall athleticsm, that definitely helps me in track and cross country, too. They definitely help each other a lot.”

Bauer, who is headed to run at South Dakota State University next season, suffered a major setback to begin her senior season. She was diagnosed with a stress reaction in her right leg and ended up missing her entire cross country campaign last fall.

“It was definitely hard. I went to all the meets still, went to every practice, just seeing teammates and other runners and wishing that I could be out there doing it with them,” Bauer said. “So, it was definitely tough, but at the end of the day, I learned a lot in the season just being there for my teammates and I grew into more of a supporting role just doing everything to help them get better.”

Teammates are an important part of sports for Bauer. It’s the reason that she likes running on relay squads compared to competing in individual events.

“I definitely I think I prefer running relays, just because you want to be there for your teammates,” Bauer said. “They’re obviously giving their best for you, so you want to return it and just do the best that you can for them. Relays definitely have a lot more energy and I think I get a lot more adrenaline from them because of that.”

Bauer runs the anchor leg on those relays. While that adds a bit more pressure on her, it is a role that she relishes because she gets to finish what her teammates started.

“It definitely helps seeing that my teammates that ran it before me gave it their all, so I just want to give it my all so that their work can be honored, especially in the medley relay when I run the 800, that’s half the race,” Bauer said. “You definitely can make up or lose a lot of time in that, so I definitely want to do my best so we can get a good time.”

Bauer is no stranger when it comes to recording good times. She owns the school record in the 800-meter, 1,600-meter, 3,200-meter, 4K, 5K, along with the sprint medley relay. Her next goal is to be part of a school record in the 1,600-meter relay.

After missing the entire cross country season, Bauer admitted there were a doubts heading into her final track and field campaign.

“I definitely experienced that at the beginning of this track season, just not knowing where I would be, seeing how much had happened the whole cross country season and how that would affect my track season,” Bauer said. “I was definitely a little bit worried about what would happen in track.”

Those doubts were quickly erased this spring as Bauer has picked up where she left off, helping the Panthers to the second best time in Class A so far in the medley relay.

“We’ve only had three outdoor meets so far,” Bauer said, “but I think I’m in a pretty good place with everything right now.”

Ovall concurs with that assessment.

“After being injured during the fall and not being able to run cross country, Halle is ahead of where I expected her to be at this time of the season,” he said. “We have been making sure that we are not pushing too hard, but in true Halle form, we don’t need to push her.”

Bauer not only has the physical attributes to thrive in distance running, she has also developed the proper mindset to go along with it.

“You definitely have to have a lot of mental toughness for those longer races,” Bauer said. “You have to go into it knowing that it’s going to start to hurt and you’re going to want to give up, but you just have to be really confident in your training and just keep pushing even though it might get tough; it will get tough throughout race. You just have to keep going.”

It appears that Bauer is on the verge of adding to an already impressive high school resume as she gears up for her final season with the Panthers.

“One of the new things that I have noticed from Halle this year is her ability to finish races,” Ovall said. “Her foot speed this year is the best it has been.”

As Bauer’s prep career is winding to an end, there are a few more goals to accomplish and a few more precious chances to compete with her teammates.

“I definitely want to qualify for state in as many events as I can this year, and medal in events too at state like last year,” Bauer said, “and then just keep bringing my times down, and most importantly just enjoy the ride of having a lot of fun my last few weeks with this team.”