Goodwin, Erickson Continue to Rewrite Cross Country and Track & Field Record Books at BSU

It’s not uncommon every now and again for an athlete to join the BSU women’s track & field team who will re-write the record books. What’s not as common is having two doing it at the same time.

Yet, that’s exactly what Mary Goodwin and Lexi Erickson have done since joining the Beavers. But as it turns out, their record-breaking careers almost never happened.

Goodwin wasn’t sure she had what it took to make it at the next level. “I was not planning to run in college at all,” the senior runner admits. “In high school, I was okay, but I wasn’t, like, really thinking about running in college because I was like, ‘I’m not good enough to run in college at all.’ But my coach knew – Coach [Mike] Lynch here – and it kind of just just happened. And I’m just so happy that I’m here and it’s been a good decision for me in the end.”

Erickson ran cross country and track at St. Scholastica, but after graduating and hanging up the sneakers, she decided to change her life plan.

“I decided I didn’t want to be a physical therapist anymore,” she confessed. “I needed a different route and decided to do PhyEd. I taught for a year. I ran a 10K October, and then after that, I didn’t really run a whole lot. I just kind of taught and tried to get through the year. I needed to figure out what to do next, and I decided to be a full-time student because I had the eligibility left and I wanted to give running one more shot and Bemidji was where it was.”

Since arriving at BSU, Goodwin and Erickson have set and reset the record books in cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field. Goodwin currently holds the school record in eight different individual distance runs, while Erickson tops the chart in five. And they owe much of that success to how they train.

“We have the highest mileage on the team,” says Goodwin. “So we usually do our warmups and cooldowns and like, I mean, we are so bonded and close-knit to each other that each day we can really work off each other, which I’ve been super grateful to have.”

“They want to see the other one succeed, whether it’s a practice or school or life,” adds Head Coach Mike Lynch. “They’re always a very good teammate, not just to each other, but to the rest of the team. There’s some of the most supportive athletes I have on the squad.”

And now as the season and their careers wind to a close, they can finally reflect on what they were able to accomplish in their time at Bemidji State.

“Coming back here and being part of a team again, I realized how important it is to have a team and have people around you that are going for the same goals,” says Erickson as she looks at the wall adorned with BSU record boards. “It’s all kind of shocking and still something that I’m still kind of getting used to, the fact that that’s my name’s up there.”

“Seeing the success that I’ve had, freshman little Mary would have been like, ‘Oh my gosh! Really? Like this, this happened?'” Goodwin jests. “I’m running these times right now and it has really been a shock to me and I’ve been really grateful.”

Mary Goodwin (3000-meter Steeplechase) and Lexi Erickson (1500-meter), along with Tierra Doss (Shot Put) and Zayda Priebe (Discus) will be competing at the NSIC Outdoor Championships in Mankato, looking to improve their NCAA Provisional marks to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Emporia, Kansas.