MELLETTE – Lincoln Woodring has turned passion into performance when it comes to running.

The Northwestern senior’s path to a career in running began at a young age when his mother encouraged him to try track and field.

“My mom always loved to run in high school, so she was always like you just got to give it a shot, you just got to give running one shot,” Woodring said. “She promised me I’d like it, and she wasn’t wrong.”

However, it turned out to be a bit of a slow start to his running career as he and his mom made a mistake before he even got off the line.

“I wanted to do track my sixth-grade year,” Woodring said, “but my mom and I actually missed the meeting to join it.”

That meant Woodring would need to wait until the seventh grade to join the track and field and cross-country teams; and once he joined, the success was immediate.

“As soon as I started in seventh grade, I think I got fifth in my first cross-country meet,” Woodring said. “And from then on, I just loved it. I loved the competitiveness and I love to push myself.”

Woodring also grew in his love for basketball, starting in first grade, and his real passion began several years later.

“I would say my true passion for it really started in middle school,” Woodring said. “We had a great coach and I just really started to fall in love with shooting around before practice, after practice, and from then on I just kind of grew this passion for it.”

Woodring was a key figure in the resurgence of Northwestern boys’ basketball as the Wildcats improved each year, culminating in a SoDak 16 berth during his junior season. Although the team fell short of getting to a state tournament losing to Faith in the SoDak 16 round, Woodring was proud of how he and his teammates rose to a new level throughout their careers.

“It was awesome, not even just for me personally, but for the whole team,” Woodring said. “Seeing all the hard work that we put in all summer and all year pay off, it was just amazing. We did fall a little short, but I’m just really grateful that we were able to get to that point because to see all of our hard work pay off like that was really something special.”

He says that while he has enjoyed the sports of track, cross country, and basketball, it’s track that he enjoys the most.

“I really like the social aspect of track. I really like getting to see kids I know from other schools and being with my classmates at the meets,” Woodring said. “I really like the 800 and that’s kind of oriented around my strengths, so I would just say it’s a culmination of a few things.”

In addition to the 800, Woodring says he does “a little bit of everything,” including the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs, as well as running on the 1,600-meter relay squad. While he enjoys every event he competes in, there is something about the 800 that catches his attention.

“I guess my only reason for it is I think I’m best at it,” Woodring said. “I like that and the mile. I really like those middle-distance events.”

While it has taken large amounts of time and effort to continue to improve throughout his running career, Woodring says consistency has been the biggest key to his success.

“Showing up every morning, like for cross-country practice, or showing up after school every day for track practice,” Woodring said, “just not taking too many days off, showing up every day getting a good workout in.”

He also said it takes a passion for running to become successful in track and cross-country.

“You also have to have a love for it,” Woodring said. “It’s something where if you don’t love it, it’s going to be hard to be consistent at it. That’s something that I’m grateful to have, is the love for it to continue to get better at it.”

That love has pushed Woodring to become one of the top runners in the state. As a junior, he placed fourth at the State B Cross Country Meet, and then finished second in the 800-meter run and eighth in the 1,600-meter run at the State B Track and Field Meet. This past fall, he placed 12th at the State Cross Country Meet, and now he has his sights set on goals for his final season of track and field. The biggest goal includes competing for a state championship.

“We’ve been really close in cross country my whole career and I’ve been close a few times in track, too,” Woodring said. “I would just say my biggest goal is to get a state championship, whether it be the 800 or the 1,600 this year.”

After he graduates and the track season comes to a completion, Woodring will shift his focus to the next stage of his life. While he does not intend on running at the collegiate level, Woodring plans on attending South Dakota State University to pursue a degree in political science.

For now, as Woodring looks back on his career, he is grateful to those who helped him along the way and said it has meant “everything” to be a Northwestern Wildcat.

“All my coaches have been so great in every sport,” Woodring said. “They’re always pushing us to the best of our ability, not because they hate us, but because they care about us. That’s just been the best for me as a person and as an athlete, just having them to push me and be so caring all the time.”